A Wonderful Caricature of Intimacy
by Countess of Abe
Summary: Draco loves his son more than anything in the world. So, when his ex-wife plans to take his son away, Draco asks the most unlikely person for help. Hermione must decide whether changing her entire life is worth helping the man she hates unconditionally.
1. Sleeping with Roaches

Disclaimer: All Harry Potter related characters, places and themes belong to J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury and Scholastic.

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**_A Wonderful Caricature of Intimacy_**

**Chapter 1: Sleeping with Roaches**

**_Besançon, France_**

"I'm getting too old for this," Draco mumbled under his breath as Pansy's voice drilled a migraine into his head.

"Excuse me? What did you say?" Pansy shrieked. "Speak up, Draco."

"Are you through bitching, Pansy? I have a few things to get done, so whenever you feel like wrapping this up, it would be appreciated," Draco replied, sitting on the couch in the massive living room of their chateau, watching as his wife, correction, ex-wife, paced in front of him.

"Have you not been listening to me?" she yelled. "I told you, I'm leaving tonight!"

"Yes, I heard that. So did half of the Northern hemisphere. If you could lower your voice, maybe we can discuss this like adults. I know that's something you're not used to, but I have a headache and I need to go check on Zane."

"Zane, Zane, Zane… he's all you ever think of," Pansy said acidly.

"I would hope that's true, especially seeing as how he's our son. Since you obviously don't ever think of him, I do," Draco retorted, his anger slowly growing.

"I have better things to do than chase after a four-year-old," she replied.

"Yes, like sleep with your boy-toy," Draco muttered.

Pansy acted like she didn't hear him. "My things are already packed and are on their way to Rouen. Angelo is waiting for me there."

Draco rolled his eyes.

"You knew this was coming, Draco," Pansy said. "I gave you plenty of chances to make our marriage work and yet you didn't seem the least bit interested in keeping me around."

"You'd think that your son would be a pretty good reason for you to stay," Draco replied. "Frankly, I'm glad you've realized where your priorities lie. We're going to be much better off without you."

Pansy sighed annoyingly and stuck her fists on her hips. "Don't you even care that I'm leaving?!"

"Why should I?" Draco asked. "You know this marriage isn't based on any sort of emotion. Do I have to keep reminding you that the only reason I stuck that ring on your finger was so that Zane would be a legitimate child?"

"Zane, Zane, Zane… that mistake of a child took away four good years of my life," Pansy exclaimed. "Do you know how much I had to pay in order to get my body back to the way it was before I was saddled with him?"

Draco clenched his fists to keep from hitting her. He would never hit a woman, but sometimes Pansy liked to test his self-control. "What kind of a person would call their own child a mistake?"

"_I_ would! He _was_ a mistake. A one-night stand mistake," she explained.

"The one-night stand, yes, that was a mistake," Draco told her. "Zane was not. All he ever wanted from you, Pansy, was just a little bit of motherly attention and yet, you never gave him an ounce! You didn't breastfeed him nor did you even feed him in general, you never changed a diaper of his, you never played a single game with him.

"God, Pansy! He doesn't even call you mummy, he calls you Pansy! Even at four years old, he knows what a shitty mother you are," Draco growled."

"I was never meant to be a mother at nineteen, Draco," she said. "I had places to go and people to see!"

Draco rubbed his temples which were slowly starting to throb. "Ok, fine, whatever. The divorce has been settled, you get 10 percent of whatever assets I have and you can keep the chateau. But Zane stays with me."

"You can have him," Pansy snorted. "What good is he going to do me?"

"Daddy?" the small voice of Draco's son sounded from the doorway.

Draco immediately rose off of the couch and walked to his son. He threw a disgusted look at Pansy and picked up his son before leaving the living room and walking towards his son's bedroom.

"Were you and Pansy fighting again?" Zane asked quietly as he rested his head on his father's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Z, I didn't want you to have to hear that," Draco told him.

"Why doesn't Pansy like me?" Zane asked. "Did I do something bad?"

Draco fought to keep his composure and not turn back around to cast an unforgivable on his ex-wife. "Pansy doesn't like anybody but herself, mate. You have never done a bad thing in your life."

Zane nodded and wrapped his arms around Draco's neck. "Can we go to the playground tomorrow?"

As they reached Zane's bedroom, Draco shook his head. "Remember that I told you we were going to see your grandparents tomorrow?"

"Gamma and Gampa?!" Zane said excitedly. "Are we going to see them for a long time?"

Draco smiled at the names Zane had bestowed upon Narcissa and Lucius back when he was a toddler and had some trouble pronouncing a few letters, including the letter 'r'. "We're going to stay with them while I buy us a new house to live in. One that's close to them so we can see them more often."

Zane's dark blond eyebrows furrowed. "Is Pansy coming with us?"

"No," Draco assured as he settled Zane into his bed. "Pansy is going to be living here in France. She won't be living with us anymore."

"Oh," Zane said. "Are you happy, daddy?"

"As long as you're happy, then I'm happy," Draco told him.

"Ok. I'm sleepy. Does that mean you're sleepy?" he asked with his usual determination of curiosity.

Draco laughed quietly and shook his head. "Do you want a story tonight?"

Zane thought for a moment, his little pink lips pursed in contemplation. As Zane made his father wait for an answer, Draco studied his son, like he did most nights.

A messy patch of dirty blond locks adorned the top of his head, a few strands falling into his grey eyes. An infinite amount of people had told Draco that Zane was a spitting image of him. Narcissa insisted that Zane was an exact copy of him as a child, except for the darker shade of blond.

Zane had the innocent face of a cherub, expectant and trusting. He differed from his father in the fact that his facial features were softer and not yet carved into the planes and angles of adulthood that Draco featured.

"I'm too sleepy for a story, daddy," Zane yawned. "Tomorrow when we see Gamma and Gampa, can they read me a story?"

"They will be so happy to see you, Z. They haven't seen you in a few months and they will do almost anything you ask, so I'm positive that they will want to read you a story."

Zane smiled and turned to his side, his eyelids drooping. "Goodnight, daddy," he whispered.

Draco kissed his forehead and tucked the covers around him tighter. "Night, Z."

As he quietly closed the door behind him, Draco heaved a sigh he didn't know he was capable of. He passed by the living room where Pansy had seemingly disappeared from. Thank God.

The hallways of the chateau were empty, with everything being packed up and ready to be shipped off to either Rouen with Pansy or back to England with Draco and Zane.

When he reached his own bedroom, the one he rarely shared with Pansy while they were married, his thoughts drifted to the memories of how he came to be a single father of the most wonderful child a man could ask for.

**oxxxxxo**

"_You're pregnant?" Draco choked._

_Pansy rolled her eyes in irritation. "Of course I'm pregnant. I haven't bled in nearly three months."_

"_Woah, too much information, Pansy," Draco grimaced. "Have you seen a Healer?"_

"_I went this morning and they confirmed it. God, I can't believe you forgot protection. It's just a simple spell," she yelled._

"_You're blaming me?" Draco asked incredulously. "You were the one who told me that you were on the potion and that I had nothing to worry about."_

"_I _was_ on the potion! But there's still a ninety-nine percent success rate with the potion. You should have taken care of the one percent!"_

_Draco inwardly groaned. Suicide looked tempting. So did homicide. He wasn't too picky._

"_Well, you know what this means, don't you?" Pansy asked._

_Draco outwardly groaned. "We have to get married."_

"_Damn right, we have to get married. Can you just imagine the degradation of being an unwed mother? We would be shunned from every social circle around," Pansy complained._

_Another groan. "Have you told anyone yet?"_

"_No, what do you think I am? Stupid?"_

_Draco wondered if that was a trick question. The honest answer was on the tip of his tongue, but he figured if he was going to marry the bint, he might as well get used to not insulting her._

_A one-night stand with Pansy had turned into the first day of the rest of his life. _

_Blaise's birthday party had included massive amounts of alcohol and massive amounts of drinking games. That night had also included a massive amount of poor decisions._

_Poor decision number one: going to Blaise's party_

_Poor decision number two: getting completely smashed and making out with Pansy in the closet._

_Poor decision number three: letting his damn dick do the thinking while he was drunk._

_Poor decision number four: shagging Pansy in the same closet while a party was going on in the background._

_Poor decision number five: shagging Pansy period._

_Poor decision number six: see poor decision numbers four and five._

_He was never going to get drunk again. Ever. Never ever._

**oxxxxxo**

"_I am so sick of being pregnant," Pansy whined. "I don't understand how people have more than one child. I feel like shit, look like shit and probably smell like it, too."_

_Once again, Draco found himself wondering if Pansy wanted a response. After six months of dealing with her, he knew the correct times to give his opinion and the correct times to disappear from the chateau that his parents had bought them as a wedding present._

_Thinking about the chateau's location in France, Draco knew his parents were distancing themselves from Hurricane Pansy. In fact, Narcissa had absolutely no tolerance for her daughter-in-law, constantly reminding anyone who would listen to her._

"_When is your stupid baby going to come out?" Pansy asked with an angry sigh. "My feet hurt and my back hurts and everything hurts!"_

"_Shut up, Pansy. Seriously. Just shut up. My _head _hurts from your goddamn whining and moaning," Draco finally said._

_With a slap to his arm and a string of curse words that would have made a sailor blush, Pansy left the room and locked herself in their bedroom._

**oxxxxxo**

"_OOWWW!" Pansy's voice woke Draco up that very night. "Son of a fucking OW!"_

_Draco sighed and got out of bed, walking over to the other bed in the master bedroom. Yes, you read that right. No sane man would sleep in the same bed as a pregnant, behemoth bitch. From the very beginning until the very end, Draco and Pansy never shared a bed._

_Draco had learned his lesson from poor decisions 4, 5 and 6._

"_What's wrong, Pansy?" Draco asked sleepily, stumbling around, looking for the lamp._

"_What's wrong? I'll tell you what's fucking wrong; your stupid child is ready to come out while I'm trying to get my damn beauty sleep. If I don't get the recommended eight and a half hours of sleep, I could develop wrinkles as early as the age of twenty! That's what's wrong!"_

_Draco sighed as he helped Pansy out of bed and through the floo straight towards L'hôpital de Mysticisme in the nearby town of Dijon. It was the only magical hospital in all of France and was conveniently nearby._

_Arriving at the hospital, being yelled at by Pansy and trying to calm his nerves at finally getting to meet his child left Draco physically and emotionally drained. He had sat in the waiting room for five hours because Pansy refused to let him in the delivery room. She barely wanted the Healer and matron-witches in there. Heaven forbid somebody see her in a less than fashionable state._

**oxxxxxo**

"_Monsieur Malfoy? Would you like to see your new son?" the soft voice of the elderly matron-witch roused Draco from his half-sleep state._

_He rubbed his face and stood up, walking towards her and the blanketed bundle in her arms._

_If someone had told him earlier that he would instantly fall in love with a child he had made with Pansy Parkinson upon first sight, he would have recommended a nice mental health institution for that person._

_Nothing could have prepared him for the onslaught of emotions at seeing his pouting baby boy in his arms. His throat clogged with unspoken feeling as he gazed at the round face of the flaxen haired infant. Wisps of downy blond hair crowned his head and molten mercury eyes refused to open behind dark eyelashes._

_Draco knew from that moment as he had held his son for the first time, that nothing in the world would ever come between them. He would make it his life's duty to make sure nothing ever harmed the child he had created. Draco had never loved anything more._

**oxxxxxo**

"_Would you like to hold your baby, Madame?" the matron-witch asked Pansy, who had seemed to have acquired a permanent scowl on her face._

"_He caused me enough pain. I'm tired, so leave me to sleep," Pansy scowled._

_Draco sat in the rocking chair near the window of Pansy's hospital room, holding his new son, Zane Draco Malfoy._

_The matron-witch suppressed a surprised look and shared a glance with Draco. He knew a pity-look when he saw one. "Very well, Madame. I'll wake you in an hour so you can feed him."_

"_I already told you that I'm not letting my breasts go to hell just so the kid can eat. I've seen what breastfeeding does to women. I won't have saggy tits by the time I hit my mid-twenties. Give him the formula like last time," Pansy said in an annoyed tone._

_The matron-witch stared at Pansy as if contemplating whether to laugh or smother her with the pillow she was fluffing. Draco hoped she decided on the latter option._

_An hour after Pansy had fallen asleep, something the hospital and Draco were thankful for, Draco held his son and just stared at him. As if disturbed by being watched, Zane carefully opened his eyes and blinked slowly up at his father, a disconcerted look on his face._

_Identical grey eyes stared up at Draco, acknowledging his presence and status of fatherhood. That had been one of the single greatest moments Draco could remember since claiming neutrality in the Second Great War._

_After being cleared of conspiratorial acts towards the murder of Albus Dumbledore, Draco and his parents gave up their loyalty to Lord Voldemort by staying out of the fighting. By not helping the light side, they got to keep their persona of 'every man for himself.'_

_Holding his son, Draco knew he had made the right choice in convincing his parents (mostly his father) to give up the stupid devotion to the Dark Arts and the Dark Arts groupie: Voldemort._

**oxxxxxo**

"_Oh, little Zane!" Narcissa tearfully greeted her grandson. "Look how big you've gotten!"_

_Zane looked up at her with wide eyes and a toothy grin. "Ba ba ba ba ba," he babbled._

"_Has he said his first word, yet?" Lucius asked as he watched Narcissa coo at the one-year-old in her lap._

_Draco shook his head. "He just babbles. Drives Pansy crazy," he added with a smile._

"_Thank you for not bringing her, Draco," Narcissa suddenly said. "The holidays would have been completely ruined with her presence."_

"_My life is completely ruined with her presence," Draco muttered. "She's visiting her friends in Florence."_

"_Have you considered what we talked to you about, dear?" Narcissa asked. "About possibly divorcing her?"_

_Draco sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "I don't want Zane growing up without his mother. I owe him that much at least."_

"_He's better off without her," Lucius said silkily. "I've never met a woman so disinterested in her own child. Does she spend any time with him at all?"_

_Draco shrugged. "I take him to work with me, I bathe him, feed him, change him, play with him. She mentioned that she'd rather not hear his cries because they give her a headache."_

"_And you're torturing yourself by staying married to her? Why, Draco?" Narcissa asked, stroking Zane's hair._

"_It's good for him to know his mother, even if she is a horrible one. I don't want to deprive him of anything and if that means I have to stick with her for a while, well, then I can make a few sacrifices for him."_

**oxxxxxo**

"_I've met someone," Pansy said coolly as Draco dressed Zane in a pair of denim overalls. It was the day before Zane's third birthday._

"_Have you?" Draco asked, making a face at Zane to make him laugh._

"_Yes, his name is Angelo," she replied. "We're in love."_

"_Well, that's good. Love's important, isn't it, Zane?" Draco asked, hiding a smirk._

_Zane squealed a small laugh and stood up on the changing table to hold on to his father. "Daddy!" he screamed. "Hop, hop dance hop!"_

"_Can you pay me a second of attention?" Pansy asked irritably. "I just thought I'd let you know that I want a separation."_

"_Not a divorce?" Draco asked simply as he picked Zane up and walked out of the door, leaving Pansy no choice but to follow him._

"_I thought you wanted me around for the kid?" Pansy asked acerbically. "I might as well stick around and have a little fun on the side. Since you won't sleep with me, might as well find someone who will."_

"_I'll send Angelo my condolences," Draco told her._

"_Argh!" Pansy yelled with frustration. "You don't take anything seriously! All you care about is Zane and what Zane wants and what Zane needs. Well, what about what I want? What about what I need?!"_

_Draco ignored her and walked outside into the large backyard of their chateau, where Zane's jungle gym was. He set the boy down and watched as he walked off to climb and explore._

"_I need to feel like a woman, Draco, and you obviously don't treat me like one. Angelo is a good man who loves me!"_

"_Does he know you're married?" Draco asked apathetically. He wasn't really interested in what she had to say, but he was bored and infuriating Pansy was a favorite pastime of his._

"_Yes, he knows. He knows what a horrible sham of a marriage this is. He knows it isn't based on love, but on the fact that we were careless idiots who can't practice safe sex," she replied._

"_Practice? I'm sure we did it just the one time. Don't make it seem like more. I have enough disturbing thoughts without having to add the one of you and me having sex more than once," Draco said._

_With another yell of annoyance, Pansy turned on her stiletto heels and left the yard._

**oxxxxxo**

Draco got into his bed and turned out the lights, his head aching with the juxtaposed memories and the tiring day he had had of finalizing his divorce.

After insistent persuasion from his parents that Zane wouldn't be affected by not having a mother around and the fact that Pansy wanted to marry her lover, Angelo, Draco had signed the divorce papers with ease.

The only regret he had was why he hadn't signed the damned things earlier. Stubborn idiot, that's what he was.

He closed his eyes and cleared his head from everything. Tomorrow would be the start of his life with Zane in England. He had practically been a single father the entire time Zane had been alive, due to the negligent nature Pansy had radiated. He wasn't too worried about his skills as a father.

He did worry about how Zane would adjust to life in England and whether he would like being put in an early education center instead of going to work with his father everyday. The Little Witches and Wizards Early Education Centre had recently opened and Draco was sure that it was a great place for Zane. He needed to be around kids his own age and to start learning the basics of primary education.

Most magic families home-schooled their children before it was time to send them to Hogwarts, but with the hectic schedule of owning his own company and taking care of a child, Draco found it a bit difficult to try and teach Zane everything he would need to know in order to make it as an intellectually capable adolescent.

He would leave it to the professionals.

And with that thought in mind, Draco dozed off into the world of slumber where problems disappeared, solutions played out, and fantasies emerged center stage.

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The title of the story and the title of the chapter come from the song, "Build God, Then We'll Talk," by Panic! at the Disco.


	2. Go Press the Dissonance

Disclaimer: All Harry Potter related characters, places and themes belong to J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury and Scholastic.

A/N: The chapter title comes from the song "Breathe In" by Frou Frou. Thank you for all the reviews, guys!

IMPORTANT: I've put up pictures of Draco, Zane, Pansy and Hermione in my profile! Check them out because I don't visualize the actors from the movies… plus, Draco is hot.

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**Chapter 2: Go Press the Dissonance**

The sound of tinkling bells above the doorway sounded as Hermione walked into the school, 'The Little Witches and Wizards Education Centre.'

A soft smile crossed her features as she walked towards the back room of the small, cottage-like building. She had finally opened her own school after ages of saving up after graduating from Hogwarts. With Voldemort being defeated towards the end of their seventh year, Hermione didn't find the need to stop her education. The Dark Lord had great timing.

She unlocked the room that served as the office and walked in to find Donny already waiting, holding a mug of coffee.

Donatella Miller had been Hermione's assistant since the school had first opened three years prior. Donatella, known to her students and everyone else as Donny, was an exuberant and very sweet person who had grown quite close to Hermione over the few years they had worked together.

"Good morning, Hermione," she said cheerfully. "I got you a cup of coffee on my way here this morning."

Hermione set her bag down and took a seat behind her desk. "Thanks, Donny. I wouldn't know what to do without you."

Donny smiled and took a sip of her coffee. "You're here later than usual."

Hermione shrugged and blew away some of the steam from the Styrofoam cup in her hand. "Harry and Ron decided that a wake-up call at five in the morning seemed to be a good idea. They barge into my flat at that ungodly hour and start spouting off some idiot ravings about Quidditch training starting and how this would be the season that Ron's team will finally make it to the championship."

"The Cannons actually have quite the chance this season," Donny mused. "But I still have all of my money on Puddlemere United."

Hermione grinned knowingly. "This unfaltering support for Puddlemere wouldn't have anything to do with your massive crush on a certain Scottish keeper, would it?"

Donny's cheeks tinted a pink color and she smiled reticently. "I still can't believe you went to school with him! Jeez almighty! What I would have given to sleep in the same tower as _the_ Oliver Wood."

Hermione laughed and shook her head. Donny was a petite bundle of ranging characteristics. She was quiet, but opinionated; small, but tough; and unwaveringly optimistic about everything. She could also make Hermione laugh until tears formed in her eyes.

"So, yesterday I was working with Jameson and Carly on their multiplication tables and they both did really well," Donny told Hermione as they settled into a more business-like setting.

Hermione was in charge of working with the younger children, three-year-olds to six-year-olds. Donny was in charge of the older kids. Seeing as how many magical families didn't want to put their children in schools, but preferred to keep them home-schooled, 'The Little Witches and Wizards Education Centre' wasn't very popular and was barely making it.

She struggled with an internal sigh as she listened to Donny explain how two of her students were not getting along.

Hermione only looked after four students and Donny taught only five. With such a small attendance, they both worked hard to make sure the school stayed open and even then, sometimes they had to deduct money from their own paychecks to keep the bills paid and the rent cleared.

"We got the new shipment of building blocks yesterday," Donny said, looking through some papers she had in her lap. "They're the really colorful ones for the babes."

"I wish you wouldn't call my students babes," Hermione laughed. "I have to spend nearly ten minutes every day convincing them that they are big boys and big girls. Otherwise, they end up acting like babies and I have to deal with their tantrums."

Donny grinned and shrugged. "Sometimes I would kill to work with the babes and not with the snot-nosed rascals I deal with. They get so freakin sassy at some points where I just wish corporal punishment was allowed."

"You're the one who specialized in adolescents, Donny," Hermione smiled. "I'm very happy working with the early-childhood group. They are such angels."

Donny rolled her eyes. "Bragger," she muttered.

Hermione grinned and heard the tinkling of bells that signaled the arrival of the students.

She looked at the clock that hung on the wall and furrowed her brow. It was still too early for students to be arriving. Usually, the earliest child arrived at eight in the morning and it was only seven-thirty.

Donny's head blocked the narrow window that peeked out into the entrance of the small school as she looked to see who had entered.

Hermione pulled out her lesson plan for the day, knowing that Donny would go deal with the visitor.

"Holy mackerel," Donny breathed, her brunette head looking closely through the small glass. "Hottie alert."

Hermione chuckled and dipped her quill in the ink-well to bullet her plans for the day.

* * *

"But I want to stay with you, daddy," Zane pouted.

Draco looked down at his son, who was walking slowly next to him, his small hand held in Draco's larger one. They walked through the quiet Hogsmeade street that led to the small school Draco had read about in the Daily Prophet.

"You have to go to school, Zane," Draco told him. "Don't you want to learn new things?"

"I already know my aphlabet…"

"Alphabet," Draco corrected.

"Yes, and I know my numbers up to one hundred!" Zane pleaded. "I want to stay with you."

Draco squeezed his son's hand and smiled sadly. "I'm sorry, mate."

"Why can't I stay with Gamma and Gampa?" he asked.

"Grandma and Grandpa agreed with me that you should go to school," Draco explained. "Don't you want to make friends?"

"You're my friend, daddy," Zane said stubbornly.

Zane always knew what to say to tug at Draco's heartstrings. The kid was a Slytherin through and through, manipulative and cunning.

The school was located on the outskirts of Hogsmeade, far away from everything else in a secluded corner of the magic village.

The small building looked more like a residential cottage than it did a school, but the sign reading: 'Little Witches and Wizards Education Centre' proved that it was indeed a school.

"Please, daddy?" Zane pleaded once more as he looked at the school with wide eyes. "I don't want you to go to work and leave me here all by myself!"

"You won't be by yourself, Zane. You'll have classmates and a teacher," Draco replied as he opened the door to the school.

Zane tried to pull back from walking into the school by digging his heels into the ground, but Draco swiftly picked him up and carried him.

"No fair. You're stronger than me," Zane said sadly.

Draco looked around the small, entrance/waiting area of the school that seemed deserted.

"No one's here, daddy. Let's go home," Zane said quickly and hopefully.

Draco laughed softly and ruffled Zane's hair. "Here comes someone now, so be polite, Zane."

Zane buried his face in his father's shoulder in response.

"Hi, there!" a short, vivacious brunette strolled out of a back room. "Welcome to 'Little Witches and Wizards Education Centre!' My name is Donny Miller."

She stuck out her hand for Draco to shake. "I'm Draco Malfoy," Draco introduced. "I wanted to enroll my son for school."

"Awesome!" Donny said enthusiastically. "What's your name, cutie?"

Zane buried his head further into his father's shoulder.

"He's a bit shy," Draco explained lamely. "And he's mad that I'm putting him in school. Zane, why don't you say hi?"

Zane grunted in response, but didn't lift his head.

Donny smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Zane. You don't have to be shy here. Everyone is super nice and we all want to be your friend."

Draco stopped himself from rolling his eyes.

"Well, you're in luck, Mr. Malfoy because we have open enrollment throughout the year and all you have to do is fill out some paperwork and talk with our early-childhood teacher."

"Sounds great," Draco said. "Can this be done today or do I have to come back?"

"We can do it all this morning and have Zane start today. Let me just go get Miss Hermione."

Draco nodded absently and then felt his eyes grow wide as Donny walked away. _Did she just say Miss Hermione?_

* * *

"Miss Hermione, he's got a little babe, so he won't be in my class," Donny said, walking into the small office.

"How old?" Hermione asked, looking up from the lesson plan she was working on.

"Don't know, maybe three or four years old. But hot damn, Hermione, the dad is a major cutie and guess what? No wedding ring," she said in a sing-song voice.

Hermione laughed and shook her head, an action she constantly exhibited around Donny. "He wants to enroll his son?"

"Yep and he's waiting now to talk to you, so go. Remember to flirt, Hermione," Donny said seriously. "We need to get you a man and that stud out there is six feet so-and-so inches of pure masculine manly manliness."

"Yeah, I'm going to go flirt with a student's father. Brilliant plan, Don. Just brilliant," Hermione mocked her by applauding.

"I'd totally go after him if he were my type. But I can never see myself with a guy more beautiful than me," Donny said with a small smile. "Plus, how am I going to snag Oliver Wood if I'm lusting after other guys?"

Hermione rolled her eyes.

Donny smiled widely and winked. "I'm going to go set up for class. Have fun with the hottie daddy!"

Hermione shook her head again and stepped out of the office with the pile of paperwork for the new student's parent. The minute she walked into the entrance/waiting area, the pile of paperwork dropped to the floor and her mouth gaped open.

"Malfoy?"

Draco looked at her and shook his head slightly. "Wonderful," he muttered. He _had_ heard Donny correctly. The frizz-bomb nuisance known as Hermione Granger was going to be in charge of his kid five days a week. Wonder-freakin'-ful.

"What are you doing here?" she asked very unprofessionally.

"I'm the damn chimney-sweep. What the hell do you think I'm doing here?" he retorted.

A muffled voice came from the small child in his arms. "Two bad words, daddy."

"Sorry, mate. What's the punishment?" Draco asked, ignoring Hermione's stunned silence and turning to his son, who still had his face hidden in shyness and sullenness.

"Ummmm… two minutes time-out at home," came Zane's smothered reply.

"Fair enough," Draco said and kissed his son's unruly dark blond locks.

"He gets to punish you?" Hermione asked, her brain and mouth fighting an epic battle of wits of speaking before thinking.

"Yes. If he uses bad words, then I punish him. I wouldn't be a very good example if I threw around curses without any justified reciprocity," Draco explained, growing bored with the conversation. "So, you're the teacher?"

Hermione straightened her shoulders as she bent down to pick up the papers. Surprisingly, Draco bent down to help as well. Had hell frozen over?

"Yes, I'm the early-childhood teacher and the owner of this school," Hermione said solidly. "I didn't know you had a son."

"Well, now you do," Draco replied condescendingly, standing up and handing her half of the papers.

Hermione stared at him, old feelings of hate and bitterness surging through her veins at the arrogant way he presented himself. Even after taking the coward's way out during the war by playing neutral, he still held his head high and made even the proudest person feel inferior. Ignoring the intense grey gaze he featured and the strong bone structure he had grown into and the way his bright hair slightly fell into his eyes instead of being slicked back the annoying way it had when he was younger and the way… um… where was she… oh yes. He was an asshole.

"Can I enroll him or do you just want to ogle me all day?" Draco's voice broke through her reverie.

Hermione scowled and thrust the stack of papers in front of him, handing him a quill and ink well from behind the front desk. Still, the little boy he held remained clutched to his father desperately.

She watched as Draco spoke softly to him.

"Can I set you down so I can write?" Draco asked him.

His dirty-blond head shook as he sniffled, strengthening his hold on his father.

"Are you crying?" Draco asked.

Zane nodded his head and sniffled again.

Draco's shoulders sagged with heavy emotion as he knelt down to place his son on his own feet. Draco stooped down to face him at eye-level.

"You promised me you wouldn't cry," Draco said quietly.

Hermione watched as the former Slytherin prince spoke to his son with more tenderness and adoration than she could have ever thought possible. It was obvious from the onset that Malfoy loved his child.

When he had set his son on the floor, Hermione saw the little boy's face. His resemblance to his father was remarkable; yet, there was a softness, a naiveté, an innocence to his young face. His large grey eyes were pooled with tears, which were making their way quietly down his rounded cheeks.

He was an adorable child, with a hint of mischief lurking beneath the slate irises. Too bad he was the spawn of Hades.

"Don't leave me, daddy. I'm scared," he sobbed quietly.

Draco reached his hands out to wipe his son's tears away. He kissed each cheek softly and brushed his fingers through his son's hair. Hermione found herself in complete awe at his actions, rooted to her spot and watching quietly.

"What did we say, Zane? What do I always tell you?" Draco asked, rubbing Zane's shoulders.

"Big boys don't get scared," Zane recited, his lip quivering, his chest rising and falling with urgent, crying breaths.

"And are you a big boy?"

Zane nodded vehemently and ran the back of his hand across his eyes.

"So you shouldn't get scared," Draco said. "I'll only be gone for a few hours and I'll be here to pick you up at exactly five o clock."

Draco rolled up his sleeve and held out his wrist to Zane. "Show me on my watch when five o' clock is."

Zane pointed his little finger at the watch and counted to the number five, pointing at the right number and sniffling.

Draco took off the watch he had received on his seventeenth birthday and strapped it to Zane's wrist. It was ridiculously big on his small arm, but it didn't matter as Draco adjusted the strap to fit him perfectly.

"Now you'll know when I'll be coming to get you, ok?" Draco said and kissed his son once more. "You're going to have fun, mate. I promise."

Zane nodded his head sadly, his attention still focused on the watch on his wrist. He petted it protectively and held it close to his body.

Draco stood up from kneeling and his eyes met with Hermione's. She was watching him strangely. It disconcerted him.

"What?" he asked snidely.

Hermione shook her head and pointed to the paperwork, indicating that he should finish it. She stepped from behind the desk and knelt down in front of Zane, much the same way that Malfoy had.

"Hi, Zane. My name is Hermione," she said kindly. "I'm going to be your teacher."

Zane stared at her, still hugging the watch to his chest. He didn't reply.

"Zane, be nice," Draco said distractedly above them as he filled out the superfluity of papers. "Say, hi."

"Hi," Zane said quietly.

"How old are you, sweetheart?" Hermione asked.

Zane held up four fingers.

"Since you're here early, do you want to help me set up for the class today?"

Zane shrugged wordlessly.

"Talk, Zane," Draco said, signing his name for what had to be the seventh time.

"Yes," Zane said, looking between his father and the pretty lady in front of him.

"Well, we're going to set out the building blocks first and then we're going to put out the crayons and parchments for art time."

"What's art time?" Zane asked, his eyes wide with wonder.

Hermione smiled. "Art time is where you can either draw, or paint, or make sculptures using clay. Do you like any of that?"

Zane nodded his head.

"Well, that's great, then. You're going to have a lot of fun today. Especially when you meet your classmates," Hermione said with a smile.

Draco watched the two of them talk as he finished with the bureaucratic part of the enrollment process. The annoying chit seemed to have a way with children, her voice soothing and kind. She spoke to Zane as an equal, and not as a baby, the way Pansy did. Just the thought of his ex-wife made Draco want to revisit his breakfast.

The muggleborn's hair was still a goddamn awful mess. For shit's sake, hadn't she heard of conditioner? Her know-it-all, annoying temperament always masked her physicality in that Draco could never get over how bloody irritating she was to see her as a person, as a woman. Her soft facial features and kind brown eyes were focused solely on Zane and her cupid's-bow lips smiled and relaxed in fullness.

God, he needed to get laid.

His last tryst had been with Pansy in the closet at Blaise's party: the night Zane was conceived. Draco deserved a fucking medal for staying abstinent throughout his marriage to the banshee. Four years… he was a blasted monk.

He was so desperate that he was looking at Granger as if she was attractive… HA!

Hermione stood up and somehow she held Zane's hand in her own. Zane's shyness seemed to be slowly ebbing away as he gazed up at the witch curiously.

"He's really smart for his age," Hermione said, looking Draco straight-on. "If he didn't look so much like you, I would wonder about his parentage."

And there was the comment that reminded him of why she was a stupid hag.

"I'm hurt, Granger. Really, I am. Now, can I pay you and get on with my day? I can only take so much of your presence," Draco replied dryly.

"Monthly tuition is 80 galleons. You can pay at the end of the month or the beginning," Hermione replied.

"I'll pay now," Draco said, reaching into his business robes and pulling out a small dossier. "Do you take Gringott's bill notes?"

Hermione nodded and watched Draco sign the equivalent of a Muggle check. He wrote it out for 200 galleons.

"This should take care of two months," Draco said, handing her the bill note. "And a little something extra to make sure he gets the best education."

"We don't take bribes," Hermione replied, staring at the bill note in her hand. Bloody Mary, 200 galleons?!

"Think of it as a donation," Draco retorted. He knelt down in front of his son and kissed his forehead. "I'll see you at five, Zane. Be good."

Zane nodded and hugged his father before putting his hand back in Hermione's. "Miss Hernime…"

"Hermione," Draco corrected, the name feeling foreign on his tongue.

"Miss Hermione said I can help set up for art time. And I am going to draw you a picture, daddy," Zane explained.

Draco smiled and stood back up. "I can't wait to see it, mate," he said and turned to leave. "_Au revoir_."

"_Adieu,_ daddy!" Zane replied.

* * *

Hermione looked at the little boy clutching her hand as his father left the building. "You speak French?"

Zane shrugged his shoulders. He wasn't yet at the age where he was cognizant of knowing a foreign language.

Hermione couldn't help but be curious… insanely curious... about this little boy; about his rogue father. Where had Malfoy been all these years? Who did he have a child with and why was he back in England? When had he become so loving (even if it was just towards the fruit of his loins)?

And when on earth did he overcome his prejudices to leave his darling son in the care of a muggleborn whom he hated fervently?

"Did the hottie leave?" Donny asked, coming out of the back room and startling Hermione out of her wayward thoughts.

"What's a hottie?" Zane asked.

Hermione shot Donny a sharp look. "It's nothing, Zane. Come on, let's go set up for art time and then you can meet your classmates once they get here."

"Is there going to be girls?" Zane asked, with his brows furrowed slightly.

"Yes, there are two boys and two girls in your class," Hermione explained.

"Yuck," Zane responded. "Girls are stupid."

Hermione heard Donny snort in laughter behind her.

"That's not nice, sweetheart. The two little girls who are your classmates are very, very nice," Hermione said. "The two boys are also nice."

Zane shrugged and followed her into the room. His hand was so small in hers. She worked daily with small children, but Zane seemed different. She felt something for the child. His father loved him intensely, that much was obvious, but the little boy still had an air of insecurity about him. As if, maybe, he had been rejected…

Despite who had sired him, he seemed like such a sweet child. Maybe he wasn't Malfoy's. Who would have thought the ferret would produce such an innocent offspring?

"I'm sorry," Zane said quietly as she showed him where the crayons were.

"For what?" Hermione asked.

"I said girls are stupid," Zane said, his eyes wide in his usual childlike gaze. "That's a mean thing to say and daddy says I shouldn't be mean to anyone."

"Your father told you that?" Hermione asked, surprised beyond her words.

Zane nodded. "You are a girl and you are not stupid. You're nice."

Hermione smiled and patted his hand as they laid out the papers and parchments. "I think you're nice too, Zane."

Zane beamed and rubbed at the watch strapped to his wrist. He was going to like this Miss Hernime. She was nice and she smiled so prettily at him. Her name was hard to say, but that didn't matter.

Maybe school wouldn't be so bad…


	3. Dysfunction between You and Me

Disclaimer: All Harry Potter related characters, places and themes belong to J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury and Scholastic.

A/N: Ok, so I'm an evil person for taking so long to get this out! I really am so sorry and I hope you all can forgive me! The end of the semester is finally upon us, so now updates will be more frequent. YAY! I hope you guys like this chapter!

The chapter title comes from the song, "Nothing Lasts Forever" by Maroon 5

* * *

**Chapter 3: Dysfunction between You and Me**

Draco looked at the sketch on his desk and ran his hand through his hair in frustration. It just wasn't working out. The stupid lines just wouldn't fit together the way they were supposed to. It seemed so easy in his head, but the minute he put the graphite to the parchment the measurements didn't add up and he was stuck with a building that was missing a small section of the siding.

It was enough to drive a man crazy.

"If you add two more meters to the foundation to the south end and then extend the roof until it overlaps, you'll be able to have the correct amount of siding," Roger said, looking over Draco's shoulder.

Draco sneered and turned to the annoying trespasser of his work who just happened to work _for_ Draco and not the other way around.

"If I extended the roof, then there would be no support to hold it up. I would have to place a beam in the middle of the damned building. You have to think of it in actual terms and not just on paper," Draco said, reminding Roger Davies exactly why Draco was in charge of Zee Magitecture Enterprise.

Roger shrugged and turned back to his own raised platform of designs. "I finished that library structure and I sent the blueprints to be copied."

Draco nodded and crumpled up the parchment he had worked on for the past two hours. "I want you to check and make sure the Asymptote team is keeping up with that new greenhouse for Hogwarts. If we lose that account, they can kiss their paychecks goodbye," Draco said.

Roger raised an eyebrow and quickly got up from his desk, leaving to spread the message to the other room of Magitects.

That had been Draco's job title since he had passed his Magitectural Aptitude Exam the year before Zane had been born. Magitects were different from muggle architects in that they designed buildings and houses that could withstand magic forces and energies without collapsing, catching on fire from poorly produced spells, or letting any non-magic folk know that magic was going on around them.

It was an elite job that few people wished to pursue for it entailed long hours, talent in sketching, Arithmancy, mathematics, physics, and history. Almost everyone who worked for Draco in both the London and Besançon offices were some of the most intelligent people to graduate from magical schools. Despite what a certain annoying muggleborn might say, Draco was one of them. In fact, as mentioned before, he was their leader, their captain, their Big Kahuna.

He glanced over at the clock that hung over the doorway, noting that it was nearly five o' clock. With one last frustrated sigh at the random sketches and crumpled parchments surrounding his desk, he grabbed his cloak and wand and left his office.

A quick word was exchanged with Roger, his second-in-command, to make sure the other employees turned in their agendas and daily portfolios into the executive office inbox. He left the swanky administrative center located in the Docklands, a primary business center east of London that surprisingly hid a small magical business community unbeknownst to muggles.

It was a short walk to Hogsmeade, since most magical communities interlocked with one another, and before he knew it, Draco faced the entrance to the school.

He walked in to find the other teacher (he couldn't remember her name) sitting in the entrance area behind the front desk. She looked up when he walked in and smiled brightly.

"Hi there, Mr. Malfoy!" she sang, putting down a Quidditch magazine she had been reading. Oliver Wood was on the cover.

"Hello, Miss…"

"Donny. Just Donny," she interrupted before Draco had a chance to show that he had forgotten her name.

"Ok then, hello, just Donny," he replied.

Donny laughed and gestured for him to take a seat. "The kids will be right out. The babes are let out later than the older kids."

Draco nodded. "You a big Quidditch fan?"

Donny looked at the magazine in her hand. "You could say that. Although, I think I'm more of a Quidditch player fan than I am a Quidditch fan."

"Ah, I see," Draco smiled. "I went to school with the guy on the cover."

Donny's eyes widened. "You went to Hogwarts?"

"Yes, but we weren't friends. We were in different school houses," he explained.

"So that means you went to school with Hermione," Donny concluded. "Were you two friends?"

"Luckily, thankfully and fortunately, no," Hermione's voice came from behind Draco.

He stood up from his chair with his lip curled. "I thank my stars every night that I didn't have the displeasure to befriend you, Granger. I sympathize with the Weasel and the Pothead, I really do."

"Surely not as much as I sympathize with the baboon and gorilla that flanked either side of you at all times. Oh, let's not forget the poor banshee wench who was rumored to be your girlfriend. I sympathize with her the most."

Draco scowled at her. _How dare she mention Pansy and bring up that horrible nauseous feeling he got every time she was brought into a conversation? Damn both the hags to hell._

"I'd give my sympathies to whatever poor sap had the misfortune to ever date you, except I can't sympathize with someone who doesn't exist."

Donny looked between the two of them glaring at each other. She snorted. "Does no one sympathize with me for having to listen to this?"

"Daddy!" Zane bolted out of the room where the classes took place, running at full speed towards his father.

Draco didn't even feel the scowl leave his face and a wide grin replace it. He had never been away from his son for so long. He scooped Zane up into his arms and hugged him tight, adding kisses to his cheeks.

"You came right at the right time!" Zane said, pointing to the watch on his arm.

"I told you I would," Draco said.

"I made a new best friend, daddy," Zane said excitedly.

"A new _best_ friend? So quickly?" Draco asked as he wrote Zane's name on the sign-in/sign-out sheet.

"Yes. His name is Wolfgang but everybody calls him Wolf. Isn't that funny, daddy? His name is like the animal!" Zane explained.

"That's great, Z. I knew you'd have fun today," Draco said.

He noticed the stupid witch smirking at him in a very, _very_ annoying way.

"What?" he asked semi-nicely so Zane wouldn't catch on to the loathing that emanated between the two.

"Zane, sweetheart, do you remember Wolf's last name?" Hermione asked.

Zane shook his head.

"It's Lupin," she said, barely managing to hide her glee at Draco's quickly hidden shocked look. "Wolfgang Lupin is your son's new best friend."

"Yep, that's his name," Zane nodded.

Draco smiled back at her. "Well of course they're friends. I'm correct in assuming that Nymphadora Tonks is Wolfgang's mother?"

Hermione furrowed her brows, wondering why Draco wasn't protesting the friendship of his son with the son of a werewolf. "Yes, she is."

"Zane, did you know that Wolf is your cousin?" Draco said, a smirk now playing on _his_ features.

"My cousin?! Wow!" said Zane. "I've never had a cousin before!"

Hermione inwardly cursed. How could she forget that Draco and Tonks were first cousins, making Zane and Wolf second cousins once removed? Damn Malfoy.

"So you have no problem with them being friends? Especially knowing who sired Wolf?" Hermione asked innocently.

"No problem at all. Family is family," Draco replied, looking completely smug, knowing that he'd foiled her plan to make him look like his old prejudiced self. "Zane can be friends with whomever he wants."

Hermione pursed her lips. "Wonderful. I'll see you tomorrow, Zane."

"Bye, Miss Her-mi-one," he said slowly, to make sure he said it right.

Hermione felt herself smile and waved goodbye to the sweet boy.

She watched as the most infuriating man on earth finally left with his son waving back at her. She slumped down into the vacated chair and rubbed at her face.

"That was weird," Donny spoke, flipping through her Quidditch magazine. "It seemed like you two hated each other for a second there."

"Hate is such a tame word to describe how I feel about that man," Hermione grumbled.

Donny unfolded a centerfold of Oliver Wood in his training uniform, aka some sweat pants and no shirt. "Lord have mercy on my poor, sex-deprived soul. This man is beautiful."

Hermione sighed and slumped further in her chair. "He made me look like an idiot."

"Who? Oliver?" Donny asked, unable to take her eyes away from the broad, glistening chest of the picture.

"No, not Oliver, you genius. Malfoy," Hermione said, although she spat the last word.

"How did the hottie make you look like an idiot?" Donny asked, flipping the page to another shirtless Oliver photo.

"Ok, first off… Malfoy is not a hottie. Second of all, I was trying to make a point when he completely ruined what I was trying to do," Hermione explained.

Donny looked up from the magazine for a brief second. "Sounded to me like you two were just bickering."

"I don't know how long I'm going to last without killing him," Hermione said.

"He seems harmless," Donny added. "I don't even understand why you two don't like each other. Wait, let me guess. You two went to school together, you must have dated and he broke your heart."

Hermione stared at Donny in complete astonishment. "That is so, so not it, Don. You have no idea how far off the mark you are."

"Then why do you hate him? He seems like a nice guy, I mean, look how great he is with his babe, who is adorable, by the way. A guy who's that nice to children can't be that bad," she said.

"He is the most arrogant, prejudiced, self-centered, pompous, evil human being to ever walk the earth. He was so ridiculously mean to me and to my friends back when we were in school. I can't even begin to list the awful things he did. Let's not forget, it was his fault that our Headmaster was killed."

"Ouch, Granger, that was a bit below the belt, don't you think?" Draco's low drawl sounded from the doorway of the school.

Hermione spun around on a gasp and stared at the intruder of her conversation. "What are you doing back here?"

"Zane forgot his jumper, so I came back to fetch it," Draco sneered. "You're lucky he's standing outside petting a cat and not here to know how his teacher truly feels about his father. That would have been psychologically fun for us all."

"You'll have to excuse her," Donny hurried to explain. "She's had a long day."

Draco rolled his eyes and shook his head, walking to the line of hooks along the wall where the children hung their jackets and sweaters. He grabbed the navy sweater that belonged to Zane and left the school without a word to either woman.

"Oh, dear," Donny bit her lip.

Hermione spun around to face Donny. "Why didn't you warn me that he was behind me?"

"I didn't see him!" she replied.

"Didn't you hear the tinkling when the door was opened?"

"You were near yelling, Hermione, and the tinkling is only heard from our office," Donny explained.

Hermione scratched her brow and sighed. Before Donny knew what was happening she watched as Hermione practically ran out the door after Malfoy. With a bewildered laugh she sat back down behind the desk and opened the magazine. "Oh, Oliver, if only you could pop out of that magazine and save me from this crazy day."

**

* * *

**

Hermione slowed to a stop as she caught up with Draco and Zane as they walked along the quiet Hogsmeade street. Draco turned around at the sound of heavy footfalls behind him. To say it was a shock to see Granger standing there would have been an understatement.

"Miss Hernime!" Zane yelled, forgetting to slow down the name so he could get it right.

Hermione took a deep breath and looked Draco in the eye. "I just wanted to apologize."

Draco stared back at her, his face devoid of any clue as to what he was thinking. "Apology not accepted."

Hermione almost laughed. God, he was immature. But she wasn't backing down and she could be the bigger person. "I said some rude things and I'm sorry."

Draco raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow. Damn him and his flawless features. "Zane, go inside Honeydukes and pick out a candy. I'll be in to pay for it shortly."

Honeydukes, which was one store down from where they were standing proved a great distraction. Zane zoomed into the store as fast as his short legs could carry him.

The minute Zane was out of sight, Draco turned to Hermione. "Listen here, Granger, and listen well. I don't care what you think of me or who you decide to preach your grievances to, but if I so much as hear that you're saying these things in front of my son, then I will have your school shut down so fast you won't even know about it until I get to personally hand you the eviction notice."

Hermione had to stop herself from dropping her jaw… and slapping the dark blond stubble off of the arrogant prat's face. "How dare you assume that I would ever be so unprofessional and irresponsible enough to say something disparaging in front of your child or any child for that matter? I care very much for my students and I would never belittle their parents in front of them, no matter how much said parents deserve the belittling."

Draco clenched his jaw and fist tight. "Go to hell, Granger."

With that, he turned on his heel and walked away.

_Oh, hell no…_ Hermione planted her hand on his shoulder and forced him to face her. "I hate you. I always have and I always will. I take back my apology because I meant every word I said before."

And with _that_, Hermione turned on _her_ heel and walked away, leaving Draco to scowl and curse under his breath.

* * *

Hermione walked back into the school to find Tonks speaking with Donny. Wolf sat on the chair swinging his legs as he waited for his mother.

"Hello, Tonks," Hermione greeted, switcing emotions from incredibly peeved to halfway sociable.

"Hermione! How've you been, love?"

"I've been doing ok, just keeping busy with the school and all," Hermione said as she took the chair next to Wolf. "How's Remus?"

"He's great. Well, not great, because the full moon is tonight, so Wolf and I are going to go visit my mum," Tonks explained.

"Tell her I said hi," Hermione said.

"Mummy? Can Zane come over to my house on the weekend?" Wolf asked.

Tonks looked at her son, with his wide, honey-brown eyes staring at her in question. His heart-shaped face spoke of purity and kindness and his eyes spoke of the mischievousness that came with being the son of a Marauder.

"Who is Zane?" Tonks asked him.

"Zane is my new bestest friend, mummy," Wolf said. At four years old, he was only two months older than the Malfoy heir. Hermione had watched the two boys interact and they had proven to be alike in so many ways, with a few differences marring their newfound relationship.

"Your new best friend? Well, that's wonderful, Wolfie. Of course Zane can come over to your house. We have to ask his mummy and daddy first, though, ok?"

Wolf nodded happily and went back to swinging his legs and humming quietly.

Tonks turned to Hermione. "So, Wolf made a new friend? I'm so glad because I thought he was going to stay shy forever. Is Zane a new student?"

Hermione bit her lip. "Yes, he is. In fact, he's Wolf's second cousin once removed. Isn't that great?"

Tonks thought for a second and furrowed her brows. "Really? So if he's his second cousin once removed, that would make Zane my second cousin, which would make Zane's dad or mum my first cousin… and I only have one first cousin, which would mean…"

Hermione watched the light bulb spark in Tonks's thought process; it was evident when her jaw dropped. "Malfoy had a kid?"

Hermione nodded. "He's four, just like Wolf, and they were friends practically upon sight. Today was Zane's first day here and they just instantly started talking and laughing. It completely slipped my mind that they were related and that Zane's father and the rest of his family aren't that close to yours."

She had purposely worded that as politely as possible since Wolf was in the room.

Tonks shrugged. "If Wolf likes the kid, then that's all that matters. But if he brings my son any grief, there'll be hell to pay."

Wolf giggled at the fact that his mother said 'hell.'

"Oh, goodness, no, Tonks. Zane is the sweetest child and despite the fact that he comes from a line of disagreeable people, he really is so nice. I'm really glad he and Wolf are friends."

Tonks smiled. "Well, then, that's great. Wolf is going to love having a cousin."

"Zane is my cousin?" Wolf asked.

The three women nodded.

"Wow," Wolf exclaimed. "I've never had a cousin before."

Hermione was amazed that Wolf had said the exact same thing that Zane had. Strange.

"Come on, Wolfie-pie, it's time to go visit your grandmum," Tonks gestured for Wolf to hold her hand. "Say bye to Miss Donny and Miss Hermione."

Wolf waved at the two women and followed his mother out of the school.

"He was the last babe," Donny said as she pulled out a folder from the desk and jotted down some notes.

"Good, I'm dead tired," Hermione said, leaning against the desk.

"What happened with the hottie?" Donny asked.

"Nothing significant," Hermione sighed.

Donny raised an eyebrow in silent disbelief.

"Well, I might have told him that I hated him and meant every word I said after he refused my apology," Hermione said quietly.

"Real professional, babe," Donny laughed. "God, what's with you two? If you hadn't said no, I would have totally thought you were old lovers."

"I don't need that mental image, Don. Not now, not ever," Hermione groaned. "Zane is such a great kid and he's so smart! There wasn't one question he didn't know the answer to during class and he already knows all the letters of the alphabet and can write them all perfectly… but then I remember that I have to interact with his father and I wonder how such a wonderful child could come from such a horrible man."

"Answer me this, why do the two of you hate each other in the first place?"

Another sigh in a marathon of sighs came from Hermione. "I guess it mostly started with the fact that we were in different houses at school. I mean, that sounds kind of ridiculous, but it's some sort of stupid legacy for the Slytherin house and the Gryffindor house to despise each other. It's all an awful example of ingroup bias and it was emphasized by the fact that I was one of Harry Potter's best friends and also that I was Muggleborn."

"Oh, that's right, and Malfoy is an old pureblooded family. I remember now hearing of them even though I was all the way in South Africa. They were on Voldemort's side, weren't they?" Donny asked.

Hermione nodded. "They turned neutral a few months before Voldemort was brought down. Of course, they _would_ take the coward's way out."

"I don't think that's cowardly. Sure, they didn't help out the light side, but they also didn't help the Dark Lord. It seems they realized their mistakes, but they were so implicated in their bias against non-Purebloods that they couldn't completely devote their efforts to aiding your side during the war," Donny said, continuing her perusal of the half-naked Oliver.

"Thanks, Professor, that was a great dissertation on the mentality of the Malfoys," Hermione said teasingly.

Donny smiled. "I'm serious, Hermione. Although I think they were idiots for letting something as stupid as family status and bloodlines rule how they thought of others, they obviously found that their old ways were wrong."

Hermione tapped her finger against the desk, mulling over what Donny was saying. "He was still a jerk. His father was awful too. That whole family was evil."

"Ok, then. Hate him for being a jerk and not for things that happened in the past."

"It's pretty hard to just forget the past, Don," Hermione sighed once again. "I'm just tired and want to go home. The less I talk about the Malfoys the better I'll feel."

"So, before, when you were asking the hottie about how he feels that his son is friends with the son of a werewolf, you were trying to make him look bad?" Donny asked with a small smile. "That doesn't sound like the Hermione I know."

Hermione felt her cheeks warm. "I guess I wanted to see if he was still prejudiced and ok, fine, I admit that was a bit immature."

Donny chuckled and set the magazine down. "I know just what you need after this horribly trying day."

Hermione smiled. "A nice, long bath and a cup of wine?"

"Nope, a mini shopping spree after a small visit to Honeydukes to buy some of their imported chocolate," Donny said.

"I have no money," Hermione pouted. "My last paycheck went to my rent, the school's rent, the regular utilities, some money I owed Harry, and then to fix the wiring in the adolescent's classroom. I have about 20 galleons left to last the rest of the month."

"Is your pity party finished?" Donny asked. "This shopping spree will be on me. My parents sent me a bank note the other week because I agreed to let them send my sister here to visit. She's a right terror and they were so desperate to be rid of her for awhile that they were willing to pay."

Hermione laughed. "Ok, fine. But we won't spend more than 25 galleons each."

"Spoil-sport," Donny said as she stuck her tongue out. "If I didn't have you looking after me, I'd be poor in no time."

The two of them finished discussing their horrid financial states and eventually closed the school for the day. All instances of an idiot pureblood gone from their minds… well, almost.

* * *

Draco watched as his son dipped his chip into maple syrup and then ate it. The stomachs of children were apparently made of steel.

"You enjoying your dinner, mate?" Draco asked.

Zane nodded happily. "It's yummy. I love when you make chips and chicken"

Draco smiled. "I don't think it counts as making it if I just defrost it with my wand and then stick it in the oven for twenty minutes."

"You're a good cook, daddy," Zane said.

Draco couldn't help but laugh. After the awful, shitty day he'd had, Zane could make it infinitely better. "Now, tell me, Zane, how was your first day at school?"

Zane's eyes lit up and he dropped the chip in his hand back to the plate as he began to tell his father all about his day.

"First, Miss Her-mi-one said my name to the whole class so that they could all know my name and then we got to go to our centers…"

"Wait, what are centers?" Draco asked.

"Centers are the centers, daddy," Zane said.

Ah, the annoyances of getting answers from a four year old.

"What do you do with the centers?"

"It's like you go and you do different things in the centers. There is blocks center and pretend house center and sandbox center and libarry center…"

"Library," Draco corrected.

"Yes, and then there is dress-up center and story-time center," Zane said.

"Ok, I understand now. Which one did you choose?"

"I went and played in the sandbox center. That's how Wolf became my new best friend."

"How did you become best friends?" Draco asked, taking a bite of his own meal.

"I was playing with the red shovel to dig the sand and then Wolf wanted to dig a hole too, so he asked me if I could share the shovel. He said please, daddy, and I remember you said that that is polite and that I should share, so I shared it with him," Zane rambled. "He told me that I maked a very nice hole."

"He said you made a very nice hole?" Draco asked, covertly correcting his son's grammar.

"Uh huh, and then we made a very big hole together using the red shovel and our hands," Zane explained. "It was such a big hole, daddy, and we started laughing so hard because the hole was bigger than our heads!"

Zane started laughing as if it were the funniest thing in the whole entire world. "Bigger than our heads, daddy!"

Draco laughed along with his son, whose laugh was infectious.

"I'm glad you had so much fun," Draco said.

"I did, daddy. Miss Her-mi-one is so nice to me. She said I'm very, very smart and nice."

Draco tried not to show his surprise that the Queen Bitch would have a nice thing to say about anyone related to him. "Well, you are very smart, Zane and very nice."

Zane smiled and went back to eating the acquired taste of fried potato and syrup. After a few minutes of silence, he looked at his father with a questioning look. "Daddy, what's a hottie?"

Draco choked on the sip of water he was taking as his son asked the offending question. "What? Where did you hear that word?"

"Miss Donny said it," Zane replied.

Draco realized that the other teacher must have been drooling over the Quidditch player in front of his son. How lovely.

"Well, um, a hottie is a person that someone finds attractive," Draco explained.

Zane stared at his father with a blank gaze. "What does that mean?"

Draco rubbed his forehead. "Ok, when you get older, you're going to start thinking that girls are pretty…"

"Ew, yuck!" Zane grimaced.

Draco chuckled at his son's innocence. Oh, the good old days when girls had cooties

"So, when you think a girl is pretty, you would call her a hottie, and the same for when girls think boys are handsome," Draco lamely explained.

"Oh," Zane said. "I think Miss Hernime is pretty. So, is she a hottie?"

Draco resisted the urge to laugh. God, how could he explain this to his son without confessing what he truly thought of the horrible she-zilla. "You can only think someone is a hottie when you're a grown up."

_Great job, Draco. Wonderful parenting. This kid is on the fast-track to a Freudian complex._

"You're a growmup, daddy," Zane said. "Only growmups can know hotties? Is Miss Her-mi-one a hottie to you? Is Miss Donny a hottie?"

Draco wanted to cry. Just curl up in a ball and cry. When would the bloody questions stop? "Miss Hermione and Miss Donny are teachers and teachers cannot be hotties."

_And the bullshit award goes to Draco Malfoy._

"Why?" Zane asked.

"Because they work with children," Draco said. Where in the hell was he coming up with these lies?

Zane looked confused. Draco felt confused… and nauseous… and tired.

"Are you a hottie, daddy?" Zane asked.

Draco nearly laughed, but stopped himself to prevent hurting his son's feelings. "All Malfoys are hotties, Zane. It's common knowledge."

"I'm a Malfoy! I'm a hottie, too, daddy!" Zane said happily. "And gamma and gampa!"

This was officially the strangest conversation Draco had ever had with another human being. "Sure, Z. That's right. Now, I think it's time for you to pick out your pyjamas and then get ready for your bath."

Zane glumly nodded, knowing that it was almost bedtime, but his hopes rose almost immediately when he remembered that there was still bath-time and story-time. His daddy was the best daddy of all!

* * *

After having tucked Zane into bed, Draco collapsed on the couch in the living room of their brand new flat, located smack-dab in between Hogsmeade and the Docklands, where Draco worked. It was a small, upscale magical community that catered to young, posh couples and older wealthier couples. Not much of a family community, but the place was nice and it was close to Zane's school, Draco's work and not too far from the Malfoy Manor.

He rested his head against the arm rest of the leather couch and stretched his long legs out in front of him. He was still half-wet from giving Zane his bath. The kid couldn't sit still for a moment the minute he hit the tub.

His thoughts drifted to the awful day he'd had. If he couldn't figure out how to improve the building he was working on, then he would have to hand over the assignment to Roger or someone on the Parabola or Asymptote team to finish up. He had never had to do that before, but this new hotel was proving to be a difficult project.

Besides work, his head started to ache from going over what had transpired at Zane's school. God almighty, Granger was a nuisance. She had purposely set out to make him look foolish by somehow proving that he was still prejudiced against half-breeds. Well, he sure showed her. Little did she know that he could care less about blood. Becoming a parent had completely changed his priorities.

True, he was still arrogant, but that was just because his family was better than most, if not all. It had nothing to do with blood and everything to do with being superior in intelligence and wealth.

But then, the stupid witch had the nerve to come and apologize after her verbal diarrhea of everything he was insecure of? Not that he would admit that on pain of death, but she didn't have to be so blunt about it all. He couldn't even begin to imagine how horrible he would have felt if Zane had heard that smashing description of his father.

Forget her; forget her and her stupid opinion of him. She could rot in hell for all he cared. So what if she was nice to his son and complimented him and didn't treat him poorly because she hated the man who sired him? So what if her cheeks went slightly pink when she became enraged and her eyes grew dark with loathing in a dreadfully attractive way whenever she looked at him? So freakin' what?

She was a bitch, end of story and there was no need to think about her outside of being his son's teacher. She wasn't even pretty! She was plain and boring and awfully sharp-tongued. Nothing about her was attractive… but then again… no, none of that.

He would be the bigger person and act civilly towards her whenever Zane was around. There, that settled it.

* * *

Hermione finished putting away the new yellow robes that Donny had bought, insisting that yellow was _tr__é__s chic_ and very fashionable for the season.

As she got ready for bed, she couldn't help but feel at complete peace with the world. Donny had made her laugh and feel much more relaxed during their shopping/chocolate evening out. She had even forgotten about the evil man who had made an unwanted entrance into her life.

But she would not dwell on him, for she had no need to. It wasn't like she found him attractive. He was so detestable it was hard to focus on anything besides how infuriating he was. Even when his eyes grew cold and menacing when he became threatened. Even when he stood so tall she had to look up to insult him.

Nope, a comfortable night's sleep and a nice cuppa before bed was all she needed. Donny was wrong. Malfoy was NOT a hottie.

Not at all.

Not even a little.

Except he was.

Damn it!


	4. Waiting for Morning to Wake You

Disclaimer: All Harry Potter related characters, places and themes belong to J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury and Scholastic.

A/N: thanks for all the reviews, guys! Sorry for the long wait! The chapter title comes from the song, "The Funeral" by Band of Horses

* * *

**Chapter 4: Waiting for Morning to Wake You**

Draco could have sworn he was just at Gringott's, talking to a hula-dancing goblin. Or, was he at the Malfoy Manor dancing the tango with the bird who taught at Zane's school… Danny? Denny? Donny? That's it, Donny.

Oh, no… he was at Hogwarts running laps around the Quidditch field in the buff.

"Daddy," Zane's whispered voice broke through the incredibly strange dream Draco was having. "Daddy, wake up."

Draco opened one eye and found Zane standing next to his bed, wearing his footy-pyjamas and poking his father in the arm.

"Go back to sleep, Zane," Draco mumbled, closing his eye and stilling his son's hand from the continuous poking.

"But daddy, it's time to get up," he replied. "The clock stick is pointing to the seven."

Draco used a very potent curse word inside his head and rubbed at his eyes. He looked at the clock and wondered why his wand hadn't beeped to wake him up. For fuck's sake, it was only 6:59 am. He could have had one more minute! God damn it! It would have been the most wonderful minute ever… and now it was gone.

A few seconds later his wand on the bedside table started to beep. Great.

"See?" Zane said, pulling his thumb from his mouth, a habit Draco tried ridiculously hard to stop in him. "Time to wake up."

Draco forced himself out of the warm cocoon of his bed and walked to the bathroom, leaving Zane to climb into his bed and curl up into the warm covers.

Draco finished his morning ablutions: take a whiz, shower, shave, brush teeth, etc. He walked back into his room to find Zane sleeping. Typical Zane. Draco leaned over the bed and kissed his son's forehead.

Zane blinked up at his father. He smiled and hid his wet thumb under the pillow. "Time to get up, daddy."

Draco laughed and ruffled his hair. "Get your scrawny butt up, mate, and go pick out the clothes you want to wear today."

Zane climbed out of the bed and ran off to his room across the hall. Draco set off to make the both of them breakfast: sugary, colorful cereal with warm milk. Not the healthiest choice, but hell… he had lost a whole minute of sleep. He would need the sugar.

After getting Zane washed up, dressed and presentable, the two of them set off for school. Zane seemed to practically skip that morning, compared to the sluggish drag of the previous morning.

"I'm going to show Wolf my fire marble," Zane chattered. "I bringed it with me in my backpack."

"Just don't lose it," Draco said. "That was a gift from Gamma."

"I can never do that, daddy!" Zane said with wide eyes. _Good grief, how dare daddy even suggest such a horrid thing?_

"You're going to be on your best behavior, today?" Draco asked.

"Yes," Zane replied automatically.

"And no sucking your thumb."

Zane stayed quiet at the accusation.

"It's a disgusting habit, Z. You're four years old and a big boy now. Big boys do _not_ suck their thumbs."

_Ok, dad… I get the friggin' point. Jeez. Thumb-sucking equals not cool. Got it. But will I listen...? Hell no._

"I'll pick you up at five again today."

"We're going to have macaroni with red sauce for lunch today, daddy," Zane explained.

"It's good to know my money is going to your culinary appreciation," Draco mumbled.

"What?"

"Nothing, Z."

They reached the door to where the evil hag corrupted… er, taught.

Two different parents and three students were already standing in the entrance area. Draco had to check his temper before approaching Granger. Oh, but wait, something else to test his cranky (due to that one minute lost sleeping) temper.

"Wolf!" Zane cried out, running to a small boy holding on to his mother's hand.

The two boys hugged and Draco tried to think of the appropriate age boys should stop hugging. Five? That'll work. Let the kid get hugs out of his system and then fifth birthday can come along, and bam, no more boy-hugs. Only dad-son hugs, grandfather-grandson hugs (although Lucius wasn't a big hug man), and nothing else.

"Mama! This is Zane!" Wolf said excitedly to the woman sporting bright yellow braids.

"Your mummy's hair is the same color like pee-pee!" Zane said as a sporting introduction.

Draco had to bite back a laugh and groan at the same time. _Thanks for reflecting my parenting skills so wonderfully, Zane. I owe you._

"Zane, that's not a nice thing to say," Draco quickly scolded. "Apologize."

"But it's lellow like pee-pee, daddy," Zane defended himself.

Draco caught the smile on Tonks' face.

"I don't care, Z. Say you're sorry," Draco said, signing Zane's name onto the sign-in list.

"Sorry," Zane said quietly. "I like your hair. It's lellow like… mustard."

"Thank you, Zane," Tonks said, choking on a laugh. The child obviously got his lack of tact from the Black side of the family. They all had an annoying tendency to speak before they thought.

She looked up at Draco and stuck her hand out. "Hello, Draco. Long time no see."

"Nymphadora," Draco said politely, shaking her hand. "I'd like to apologize as well for Zane's hideous comment. He usually doesn't speak like that, knowing that a spanking could be in his immediate future."

Zane grabbed the seat of his pants in horror. "I said sorry, daddy."

"It's quite alright," Tonks said cheerfully. "Honesty is the best policy, right boys?"

The two boys nodded and then walked into the open door leading to the classroom right as Hermione walked out of it.

She looked between the cousins and smiled at Tonks. "I'm glad to see you two talking since I can tell you from now that those boys are going to be inseparable."

"You look so cute today, Hermione," Tonks said.

She was referring to the pale pink robes Hermione was wearing, completely opposite of the greys, navys, and blacks that she usually wore to teach. Her hair had been pulled back from her face in a slightly chaotic chignon, exposing her slender neck and accentuating her feminine face.

"Thank you, Tonks," Hermione said, a pink fog creeping up to her cheeks. "Donny made me promise to brighten up. She said I looked like a mortician before."

Tonks laughed at the blunt comment. "Well, you look great, babe. Time for me to jet. Kingsley will have my patootie if I'm late again. Later, amigos."

She walked out of the school, leaving Draco and Hermione to deal with the thick tension and horrid social pressure.

_Why the hell didn't I leave the minute I signed Zane in? Fuck me! This is the last time I spend more than a minute in this hag's presence. Ok, quick, say something and leave._

"I agree, you do look nice," he said.

_FUCK! What the hell is wrong with me? What in the fucking fuck made me say that? No more Sugary Hyper Puffs for breakfast anymore, Draco. Dump the whole goddamn box the minute you get home._

"Um, thank you," Hermione said slowly.

"I'll be back at five to pick Zane up."

"Ok, he'll be here," she joked.

Hermione inwardly slapped herself. _'He'll be here?' Are you serious? Of course he'll be here. He's four, where else will he be? Stop trying to be witty and just do your job. _

Draco nodded and quickly left the school, running his hand through his hair. What a fantastic start to a fantastic day. If only he had slept that one extra minute…

* * *

Work was uneventful, filled with tedious employees, two near disasters of losing accounts, and bouts of unbridled frustration. All in all, a good day.

The first breath of air as Draco left his office building was like the key to the lock on his stress. He strolled on the sidewalk, letting his mind relax from every worry and annoyance, until he could just enjoy the wind blowing against his skin and the hypnotic rhythm of a nice walk.

Before he knew it, he was standing at the school, recharged and ready for whatever life had prepared to throw his way, whether it was in the form of his son's rambling or the muggleborn teacher's hatred.

"Greetings, Mr. Malfoy," Donny said from the desk, her feet propped up and her face hidden behind a book, surprisingly not about Oliver Wood.

"Um, hi," he answered, not sure how to reply to the colloquial greeting.

"How was your day?" she asked conversationally, her nose still buried in the book.

"It was as usual," he replied, automatically going to the sign-out sheet. "And yours?"

"I had a student ralph on me and then I stubbed my toe on the edge of the doorway," she said. "But it wasn't as fun as Hermione's."

Draco nodded politely, knowing that she was probably waiting for him to ask exactly why Hermione's day was more fun than hers. He wasn't falling for it, because he frankly didn't care.

"Did you know that the ultimate way to get a bloke to fall in love with you is to focus all of your attention on him and make sure that he knows he is the center of your attention?" she asked, looking up from the book.

"The next time I want a man to fall in love with me, I'll be sure to remember that," Draco said with a straight face. "If only I had known before…"

Donny broke out in a round of laughs. "I'm reading a book on the best ways to get a man to love you. I need as much information as I can get if I ever want to snag Woodie."

"Woodie?"

"Oliver Wood. I gave him a nickname. It's what I'll call him once we're married," she replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Does he know you two are getting married?"

"Of course not," she said with a wave of her hand. "But he'll know the minute he meets me. It'll be love at first sight, unless he has a certain aversion to frumpy, out-of-shape teachers… then we might have to work a bit on the love part."

Draco furrowed his eyebrows. "You're not frumpy nor are you out-of-shape."

"You think?" she asked, looking down at her body. She was obviously disillusioned, because she had the body of a tiny faerie, small and petite.

"Yes, I do believe you are neither of those things," he replied. "Now, when are the kids supposed to be let out? It's almost ten after five."

Donny looked at the clock behind her. "I thought the babes left already. I know Wolf left and Angie left and Carter left. But obviously all the babes haven't left if you're here to pick up Zane.."

Draco couldn't help the small bit of worry that clawed his insides. He had arrived exactly at five, so where was Zane?

"Oh, there they are," Donny said as Hermione and Zane strolled out of the classroom.

Zane ran into his father's arms and squeezed his father around the neck, staying eerily quiet. Usually he was blabbing nonstop.

"Is everything alright?" Draco asked, rubbing his son's back and turning to Hermione.

Hermione clasped her hands together and swept away a stray hair from her face. "We had a small accident."

The bit of worry grew into a colossal ache. "What happened?" Draco managed to say. "Is Zane hurt?"

Hermione shook her head. "Zane used a smidgen of magic unknowingly."

"Was anyone hurt?"

"No, but Zane was really scared and I think it was his first time using magic."

"He's used it before," Draco sighed. "He was angry and he made the door slam shut and it terrified him."

"Well, I don't think he was angry this time, but he did make his desk collapse," Hermione said with a small hint of worry in her eyes.

"Z? Are you ok?" Draco asked quietly.

Zane shook his head, burying it in his father's shoulder.

"Oh, sweetheart, it's alright. I told you that the desk is all fixed," Hermione said, stepping closer to the small boy in his father's arms. "Nobody was hurt and you didn't ruin anything."

"I breaked the desk, daddy," Zane's voice came out in a squeak.

"Zane, it's ok," Hermione said again. She patted his back and stroked his hair off of his forehead. "I fixed it and everything is perfect now. You didn't do anything wrong."

Zane looked up and switched his gaze between his father and Hermione. "I won't get in trouble?"

Draco shook his head. "No, Z. You can never get in trouble for something you had no control over."

'I was just thinking about a desk breaking, daddy and then it happened! I didn't want my desk to break but it just happened and Angie screamed!"

"Yes, well Angie is a little snot…" Donny mumbled from the desk. "She screams like it's a second language to her."

"Donny!" Hermione chastised. "Not in front of other students."

Donny shrugged and went back to her book.

Draco walked over to the row of hooks and picked up Zane's jumper and backpack. "Tell Miss Hermione thank you for fixing the desk," he told Zane.

"Thank you," Zane said.

He put his head back on his father's shoulder and stuck his thumb into his mouth.

"Mr. Malfoy, could I speak to you for a few moments?" Hermione asked, walking behind the desk to where Donny was sitting and pulling a ring of keys from a desk drawer.

Draco withheld a sigh and nodded.

"Donny can watch Zane," Hermione said. "I just have to discuss something with you."

She led him to the back office and motioned for him to take one of the seats across the desk from her. Draco sat and waited for her to begin speaking so he could get out of there. No matter how hard he tried to avoid her presence, there always seemed to be a reason for them to interact. It got on his last effing nerve.

"I'm just going to get right to it," Hermione started. "I want you to know that what Zane experienced was very normal. He's at the age where magical children start to learn about their powers and it's crucial that they learn how to control them."

"I know," Draco said simply, already annoyed with the speech.

"He's an extraordinary boy and so far, he's the first child to have shown magic in his age group here at school. I want you to know that I've studied child magic extensively and that you shouldn't worry about his control over it, because I will see to it personally that he works on it."

"Ok, thank you," he said and stood up.

"One more thing," she quickly said. "If you want Zane to stop sucking his thumb, I suggest using diluted jalapeno."

Draco's hand was on the doorknob, but he turned slowly around to look at the deranged woman. "Excuse me?"

"Cut up a jalapeno and put the pieces in a cup of water. Find a way to get him to stick his thumb in the water and he'll eventually stop sucking his thumb once he realizes that it's uncomfortable to suck on it."

"That sounds cruel," he replied. "I would never purposely hurt my son. He'll eventually grow out of that habit. Thanks for the advice, but no thanks."

"He's not going to grow out of it," she said with a hint of irritation. "Don't be so stubborn. He needs to be conditioned to stop the action or it's going to continue."

"I'm not going to do that to my child."

"It won't hurt him. It's _diluted_ jalapeno water, not a habanero pepper from the outskirts of the damn Yucatan peninsula. It's enough to make it uncomfortable for him to suck his thumb."

"You're insane."

"And you're an obstinate fool."

"Is that all or do you have any more pearls of wisdom you wish to bestow upon me? Should I punch him in the jaw the next time he curses or do you want me to kick him in the bollocks whenever he wets the bed?"

Hermione shook her head in exasperation. "Fine, I don't care. I'm just trying to help. My efforts are obviously going to waste on such an unfit parent."

Draco's eyes turned icy cold and Hermione actually felt the temperature in the room plummet. She instantly regretted her words and willed them to come back to her stupid, stupid mouth.

"I'm sorry, that was incredibly rude of me…"

"Hi, my name is Hermione Granger and I say incredibly vulgar things and then go and apologize as if it makes it all better. Fuck you, oh, wait, I'm sorry, that was rude. You're a horrid bitch, oops, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. I hate you and wish you weren't my son's teacher so that I could tell him what a horrible person you are, nope, sorry about that, too. Didn't mean to say that," Draco said in a rabid, loathing tone.

Hermione clenched her fists together. "You're not a shining beacon of morality yourself there, Malfoy. I seem to remember countless times when you used horrid words and traded insults as if you were born to do it. You called my friends and called me the worst names and you threatened our families and you made us hate you with everything we possessed."

Draco's jaw tightened and he narrowed his eyes at her.

"I never hated anyone before I met you," she continued, malice oozing from her words. "You're the one who showed me what it's like to actually hate someone, to loathe someone with all of my being! I hated you so much and I hate you still. So, don't you dare come in here and pretend like I'm some evil demon set out to hurt your feelings. Be a man and take an insult, the likes of which you gave out every chance you had back when we were in school."

"I'm glad we agree on something," Draco spat.

"What?"

"You hate me and I hate you. It's a match made in the fiery pits of hell," he said and left the room, slamming the door behind him.

Hermione fought the urge to have a cathartic scream and instead paced her office slowly, breathing in and out to control her rage.

_I don't think I can handle him every day… I'm going to lose it._

"Hermione?" Donny's voice came from the other side of the door.

Hermione granted her entrance and Donny slowly entered the room. She took a seat in front of the desk and watched Hermione stop in her pacing.

"Mr. Malfoy looked really mad when he walked out of here," she said.

"We had a slight argument."

"By slight argument, do you mean an explosive fight that I could hear all the way from the entrance area."

Hermione's face blanched. "Oh, God, did Zane hear?"

Donny shook her head. "I put a deafening spell on him when the two of you entered the office. It's a bit sad that I knew you two were going to fight."

Hermione sank into the chair behind the desk and rested her head on the surface of the desk. "I can't believe how much I hate him."

"Remember, babe, don't let your relationship with the parents affect your life. Just forget about him. He's really not worth the stress."

"I can't help it. I can't just detach my emotions and not let his words affect me. I don't like fighting with anyone, Don. It's not a fun experience and I hate that Zane comes from such a horrid man."

"I doubt Zane shares your opinion."

Hermione groaned and rubbed at her temples. "Yeah, I know. The stupid prick is clearly a great father to Zane and yet I don't know how he switches so easily from SuperDad to Evil Mutant Ass-face."

"Evil Mutant Ass-face… cute," Donny laughed.

Hermione felt her lips twitch into a smile. "You're right. He's not worth stressing over. Let's go grab some dinner and then we can swing over to Ron's flat. I heard he was having the rest of the team over for drinks."

"Ooooh, yummy Quidditch players after a long day of training. I'm so in," she said dreamily. "Although no one on the Cannons can come close to Oliver in catching my affections, some shameless flirting is exactly what we need."

"Damn, now I wish I hadn't mentioned it. I just wanted to see Harry and Ron again. You're going to make me flirt with the team, aren't you?"

"Duh. You need a man, babe. A man that you can go home to and hump until your troubles fly away," she said simply.

Hermione couldn't help the bubble of laughter that escaped her lips. "You're a real poet, Don."

Donny smiled coyly and winked. "Yep, now let's get going. I'm starving, single, and ready to rub some bloke's dingle."

"Donny!" Hermione gasped in a laugh.

"Kidding!" Donny sang. "Now, get your butt out of that chair so we can go. Those Quidditch players aren't going to flirt with themselves… unless they swing that way, and I'm pretty sure I read in last week's issue of 'Queer Quidditch' that the seeker for the Cannons has his eye out for Rodney Blue, the new chaser."

"Why were you reading 'Queer Quidditch'?"

"I have to make sure they aren't slandering Woodie or spreading rumors about his sexuality," Donny explained.

Hermione shook her head in astonishment and followed Donny out of their office after checking on a few things and locking up. It was definitely not going to be a dull night.

* * *

"Are you mad at me, daddy?" Zane asked Draco as they walked home, his small hand in his father's larger one.

Draco was so wrapped up in his thoughts, in his hatred for Hermione that he barely heard his son's question. "What? No, Zane… I'm not mad at you."

"Why are you mad?"

"I'm not mad," he lied. "I'm just a little tired."

"Oh. Do you want to take a nap?" Zane asked.

Draco smiled softly. "A nap sounds wonderful… but we have to eat dinner first at Gamma and Gampa's."

"Yay!" Zane cried out. "I can tell them about my school and Miss Hernime and Wolf and how much fun I have all the time!"

"They'll be happy to hear that you're having fun."

"Can they come to school with me tomorrow?" Zane asked after a few minutes.

"You don't have school tomorrow, Z. It's a Saturday," Draco explained, thanking all the muggle deities and mythological deities and unknown deities that he wouldn't have to see stupid Granger for two whole days. It was a blessing.

* * *

Narcissa engulfed her grandson in a huge hug the minute he stepped foot inside of the manor. "Zane, my darling boy," she said in between kisses and pinched cheeks.

"Gamma, I goed to school and my teacher is so nice and pretty and she said I was smart and nice and I have a best friend and his name is Wolfgang but everyone calls him Wolf, like the animal, Gamma, and then I played all the time in the sandbox and with the blocks and Wolf and me made a big, big tower with the blocks and it falled down and we laughed so hard my tummy hurt! I made a drawing of daddy and I showed it to him and he put it on the wall in his room and I'm going to make a drawing of you and Gampa when we have Art Time again and will you hang it in your room?" Zane said with such speed and breathlessness that Lucius and Draco caught only a few words.

Narcissa, on the other hand, caught every single word. "Of course I will hang whatever you draw on the walls. I'm so glad you have such a nice teacher and that you made a new best friend! He has such a unique name and I really want to meet him."

"Daddy said Wolf is my cousin," Zane explained.

Narcissa picked Zane up and walked with her son and husband towards the dining room. "You told him that?" she asked Draco.

"Wolf is Aunt Andromeda's grandson," he answered, smiling at his mother's stunned look.

"You're joking," she sputtered.

"Nope. Nymphadora married Remus Lupin, you remember him, the werewolf who taught us Defense Against the Dark Arts in my third year, and they had little Wolf Lupin."

"Wolf Lupin," Narcissa said with a roll of her eyes. "Nymphadora always had such a strange sense of humor."

Draco turned to his father. "You seem to be taking the news well that your grandson is best friends with the son of a werewolf."

Lucius smiled slowly. "Why would I have a problem with it?"

_Hmm… let's see, you were only the most prejudiced man ever to grace the earth and taught me to hate people who are not like me._

"You've changed, father," Draco laughed.

"I realize my past mistakes and hope you don't make the same ones with Zane. The boy is too smart to go down the same path we took," Lucius said firmly.

Draco nodded and understood his father's sentiments. People _could_ change. His family had changed to being super-biased extremists to arrogant aristocrats who didn't care about silly issues like blood or birth. Judging people by their personalities was a lot more mature than any other alternative.

"Miss Hernime said that I can pick the book for story-time," Zane explained to his grandparents once they had all settled down for dinner.

"Miss Hernime? That's such an odd name," Narcissa mused.

"It's actually Miss Hermione," Draco corrected.

"Why is that name familiar?" Lucius said, taking a sip of his _cabernet sauvignon_.

"Hermione Granger, one-third of the happy threesome made up of the youngest Weasley son and the infamous Harry Potter," came Draco's malignant reply.

"That muggleborn who went to school with you?" Narcissa asked with an eyebrow raised. "She's your son's teacher?"

"Of course she is. You know my luck, it's horrendous. Of course the one person I h-a-t-e is going to be teaching my child and forcing me to interact with her on an almost daily basis. I'm the most unlucky s.o.b. in the world."

Zane tried to follow the conversation, but they were using words he didn't understand. And what was with that thing where they used letters instead of words?

"I can p-q-r-l-t-z," Zane said. "Are we playing spelling, daddy? I can spell my name! Z-a-n-e. Zane."

"Bravo, my darling," Narcissa said with a bright smile. She turned a scowl towards Draco. "You have to start watching yourself, dear. He's going to be able to pick up the negativity between you and his teacher if you don't watch yourself. Also, stop spelling things because he's a quick learner."

Draco nodded, too tired to argue and spent the evening listening to his mother and father tell him about the mundane upper circle of friends they kept and listening to Zane ramble on about the most random subjects imaginable, including their discussion on how Gamma and Gampa were hotties. Dinner at the manor was never boring…

* * *

Somehow, a week went by and Draco found himself falling into a daily pattern. It basically went like this:

-Wake Zane up (if the little bugger hadn't woken him up first)

-Do morning necessities and make sure Zane does them too

-Breakfast (NO SUGARY HYPER PUFFS!)

-Walk Zane to school

-Say hi to Denny… no, damnit, her name is Donny. God, how hard is that to remember?

-Ignore frizzy-haired Komodo dragon, except to say 'good morning' if Zane is present

-Go to work

-Yell at employees for their incompetence

-Get some work done

-Count down the minutes until lunch

-Yell at employees some more

-Lunch

-Back to work

-Yell at employees

-Count down the minutes until five o' clock

-Leave work

-Walk to Zane's school

-Say hi to Danny. Oh, fuck it. Donny. Donny with an O. People should wear name tags

-Ignore know-it-all swamp creature, except to say a polite goodbye if Zane is within hearing range

-Leave school and do an internal jig that the day is nearly over. Key word: internal

-Make Zane something edible to eat for dinner. (For future reference, do not follow any more recipes found in the Quidditch Weekly magazine… those tend to cause insane diarrhea)

-Play a game with Zane that doesn't involve talking in a high-pitched voice or transfiguring an action figure into a doll

-Give Zane a bath

-Change into dry clothes because apparently, 'sit still' means 'splash as much you can' in four-year-old jargon

-Read Zane a bedtime story

-Listen to Zane explain how the story could have been better if there were dragons and/or dinosaurs eating the heads off of the hero of the story

-Make sure Zane falls asleep

-Collapse into own bed and sleep

-Repeat the vicious cycle over again

* * *

Another week passed by with the same lovely pattern. Things were going great for Draco and Zane. Draco was even hoping that his son was soon forgetting about Pansy, which was a wonderful thing. The last thing the kid needed was the memory of his shit-for-brains incubator.

Zane was enjoying school immensely. He was learning to control his magic, learning basic educational principles and having fun with Wolf.

Annoyingly, he was also growing dangerously fond of the Muggleborn barracuda he had for a teacher. "Miss Her-mi-one this, and Miss Hernime that and Miss Her-mi-one said this and Miss Hernime said that…"

It wasn't until Draco received an owl from Blaise Zabini, Draco's remaining friend from school and Zane's godfather, that their life was turned completely upside down.

Blaise worked with the ministry in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement as a Judicial Advocate, the magic world's version of a lawyer. He dealt mostly with business legal matters, but for Draco he would make an exception.

Especially when he had received such awful news…

Draco went into shock the minute he read Blaise's brief letter.

_Draco,_

_I was just informed by my superior that we had a new case filed. It seems that Pansy Parkinson wants custody of her son, one Zane Malfoy and has hired an experienced Judicial Advocate to fight her case._

_We need to talk. You could lose your son and it's imperative that we speak as soon as possible. Owl me back._

_Blaise_


	5. Do what's Right When Everything Is Wrong

Disclaimer: All Harry Potter related characters, places and themes belong to J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury and Scholastic.

A/N: Look how fast I updated:) I'm proud of me, too! Thank you so much for the continued reviews, because they truly mean a lot to me. The chapter title comes from the song, "Easier to Lie" by Aqualung.

* * *

**Chapter 5: Do What's Right When Everything is Wrong**

The Burrow was always such a welcoming place for Hermione. Summers and Christmases spent there, spending time with the certifiable Weasley family and anyone who decided to visit. Hermione loved it all and felt a burst of euphoria standing at the front door, ready to knock and enter the warm home.

It had been three horrid weeks working constantly and having to semi-interact with Dickhead Malfoy. Thank God for small favors that they only had to exchange a small greeting and goodbye.

"Now, you're saying that their eldest brother actually roomed with Oliver Wood?" Donny asked from her right side, breaking into her musings.

"Third eldest, Percy, shared a room with Oliver for six years until he became Head Boy," Hermione clarified.

"This is probably the closest I'll ever get to Woodie," Donny sighed. "I hope Porky shows up."

"Percy," Hermione corrected with a laugh.

"I like Porky better. Percy seems like such an uptight name."

"Trust me, then, Percy definitely fits Percy."

The girls shared a grin and waited after knocking three times on the door.

Charlie Weasley answered the door, his hair ruffled from an obvious sleep and his eyes half open. He hid a yawn and replaced it with a smile. "Hermione! Cor, it's been forever since I've seen you, come on in. Who's your friend?"

"Charlie, this is Donny. Don, this is Charlie, Ron's second eldest brother," Hermione introduced the two.

"What kind of name is Donny?" Charlie bluntly asked.

"The kind of name given to mystic witches who know spells on how to reduce a man's testicles into dust," Donny replied without a blink. "It's so nice to meet you, by the way."

Charlie smiled at Hermione. "I like her. She's fiery."

"Yes, well… where is everyone? I thought we were having lunch," Hermione said, walking towards the kitchen with the red-head and pixie following behind her.

"They're out in the yard. I heard something about a picnic, but then I passed out for a while…"

"Why? Are you sick?" Hermione asked worriedly.

Charlie shook his head with a coy smile. "We had George's stag night last night and we consumed enough alcohol to keep our innards sterilized for the next century or two."

"Classy, Charlie, real classy," Hermione said, shaking her head.

"It was fun though; Bill is still out after having thrown up in mum's garden. We told her it was new fertilizer and I'm pretty sure she doesn't believe us. Ron and Harry are perky as usual, not having had much of the drink, enjoying the female entertainment in their sobriety."

"The male species is utterly disgusting," Donny mused out loud. "Either get so trashed you can't move the next day or blow the night away staring at some bird's tits and ass jiggle around in teeny leather knickers and those tassel thingies."

"I wouldn't mind seeing you in…" Charlie started to say before Hermione smacked the back of his head.

Donny rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest, swinging her head back to move the jet-black hair out of her eyes. "You're still drunk so go back to bed."

Charlie blinked twice and immediately turned towards the hall bathroom where the girls heard him empty the contents of his stomach.

"He makes a great first impression," Donny joked, smiling at the family portrait hanging over the hearth. "So many red-heads…"

"HERMIONE!" Ginny Weasley voice came from the doorway. A small bundle of freckles and red hair barreled towards Hermione and they impacted at a dangerous speed.

"God, how are you?" Ginny managed to say, giving Hermione a squeezing hug.

Hermione smiled at her old friend. "Fine, fine. Everything's the same here, Gin. It's you who has been off trotting the globe. Oh, let me introduce you to Donny, she works with me at the school."

The two women shook hands and Ginny invited them to sit on the overstuffed couches.

"How long are you going to be in England?" Hermione asked Ginny.

"Only for the next two days. Our next game is on Monday, so we'll be back in Nicosia by Sunday night and then over to Copenhagen by Wednesday morning," Ginny explained.

"You play Quidditch?" Donny asked, looking up from a Quidditch magazine one of the Weasley boys had left on the coffee table.

"No," Ginny shook her head with a smile. "I'm the agent and manager for the Harpies. Where they go, I go, so I'm never in one place for long."

"Sounds fun," Donny said, going back to an article on the breakfast plans of Puddlemere United. "Woodie eats toast with unsalted butter," Donny sighed. "I'm not a fan of unsalted butter, but I'd change for… good lord, would you look at the chest on him? I'd like to butter that right up and…"

"So, Ginny, how's it going with Guillermo?" Hermione quickly interrupted.

"Who?" Ginny asked with a puzzled look. "Oh! Gustavo?"

"Yeah, him."

"We broke up before I left Bogota," she said with a wave of her hand. "The language barrier got annoying after awhile."

"Dating must be a bitch because you travel so much," Donny added.

"I get by," Ginny shrugged. "International men are so much fun though."

"I bet," Donny snorted. "Although, our British boys are something else. No one can compare to the Scots, the Welsh and the English."

"You don't sound British," Ginny said slowly. "You sound almost… South African?"

"Bingo! Good guess," Donny said with a wide smile. "But as long as I'm living here, I'll consider myself a Brit."

"Oh, no guessing," Ginny laughed. "I just came from Pretoria. It was marvelous. Beautiful city, great food and cute men."

"Good to know you had fun in Africa," Harry's voice said from the entrance to the living room.

"Uh oh," Hermione mouthed to Donny.

"Oh, I had tons and tons of fun, Harry. Thanks for asking," Ginny replied with a cat-like smile gracing her pretty features. "How was the stag night?"

"Tons and tons of fun," Harry replied, an angry gleam accenting his jade eyes.

Donny and Hermione watched the two of them like an ancient game of pong.

"Are you going to say hi to us?" Donny asked.

Harry looked from the red-head to Donny and Hermione. "Sorry, I was supposed to bring you all out to the yard. Everyone's out there waiting."

He turned on his heel and left the room, leaving them with all the yummy awkwardness he had left in his wake. Donny and Hermione exchanged nervous glances and watched Ginny leave the room and stalk up the stairs.

"Why didn't you tell me that those two have a horribly obvious sexual tension between them?" Donny asked Hermione as they walked towards the yard.

"Long story short: Harry and Ginny dated on and off while we were all in school and even after Harry graduated they kept seeing each other. Ginny's graduation day comes along and she tells Harry that she's going to work with the Harpies and that she'll be on tour most of the year. They get into a huge fight and he tells her to pick between the Harpies or him… and she chose the Harpies."

"Well, it's not very fair of him to make her choose between her career or him. How misogynistic," Donny said.

"It wouldn't have been fair to him if she had made him stay in a relationship while she was never at home. Long-distance relationships are hard and Harry has clear mental issues with being abandoned."

Donny nodded her head. "I see your point. Oh, but it's so noticeable that they want to shag the living daylights out of each other. Too bad they don't just throw caution to the wind and have some wild monkey-sex."

Hermione laughed and shook her head. "Thanks for that image. It doesn't gross me out at all."

"What image?" Ron asked, coming up behind them and throwing an arm around both their shoulders.

"The image of…" Donny started to say before Hermione clamped her hand on her mouth.

"The image of George's stag night. It must have been so wild!" Hermione said.

Ron's cheeks blushed slightly and he pecked the girls on the cheeks. "There are some things that shouldn't be mentioned in front of ladies."

"Thank your stars I'm not a lady," Donny said.

Ron laughed and rolled his eyes. "I'm starved and mum's had lunch ready since forever." Changing the subject was always a grand idea when one spent time with the likes of Donatella Miller.

* * *

Blaise Zabini paced in front of the fireplace in the modish office he had been given when he had been promoted to Associate Chief Judicial Advocate. It was a lengthy title that no one cared about, least of all Blaise. It was just fun to say whenever he decided to hit on a woman with a generous rack and the invisible 'gold-digger' written across her forehead.

"Mr. Zabini, Draco Malfoy is here to see you," his dowdy secretary said from the doorway. "Can I show him in?"

Blaise nodded absently and continued his pacing.

"Unca Blaise!" Zane's boyish voice resounded throughout the room. Blaise turned towards the speeding blur of four-year-old and caught him quickly.

"Zany Brainy!" Blaise laughed, hugging his godson close to his chest and watching the sperm-donor of his godson stride into the room with the usual bout of overconfidence that Blaise made fun of the most. "Have you been taking care of your dad, like I asked you to?"

"Yes, Unca Blaise," Zane said. He took a deep breath and then proceeded to tell Blaise everything, _everything_ that had happened since he and Draco left France.

"And then yesterday I played with Wolf on the swings and I fell and scaped my knee and I scaped it bad and Miss Her-mi-one fixed it all up for me and cleaned it up and gave it a kiss to make it feel all better!"

"This kid's lips move a thousand kilometers a second," Blaise muttered to Draco who smiled briefly.

"That sounds great, Zany Brainy," Blaise told the eager child. "Now, why don't you go sit with Margie and tell her all about your new school and your friend."

Zane's eyes widened and he shook his head, looking towards the door where the severe-looking secretary had shown them in. "She's scary."

Blaise bit back a laugh, completely agreeing with Zane.

"Big boys don't get scared, Zane," Draco recited. "You know that."

"I'm a big boy," Zane said.

"Then you shouldn't be frightened of Margie."

Zane hung his head in defeat. "Ok. Will she give me sweets?"

"I'll give you a whole box of Bertie Bott's when I'm finished speaking with your dad," Blaise bribed.

Zane was out of the room at top speed; with the promise of jelly beans in his future even the she-beast known as Margie wasn't an obstacle.

Once he was out of the room, Blaise took a seat behind his desk, across from Draco, who had seen better days.

"He gets bigger every time I see him," Blaise started off.

Draco smiled slowly. "Children tend to do that. It's an annoying habit."

They laughed shortly, knowing that any humor was soon to fly out the window. "I think we should get right to it, Draco. So, I'll start off." He shuffled some papers on his desk and arranged a few quills in order of height. "Now, as I told you before, your ex-wife has filed a petition to gain full custody of Zane."

"According to our divorce, I received full custody of him," Draco interrupted.

Blaise nodded. "Yes, I know that. I was the one who helped you with your papers."

"So, then how can she file for custody?"

"She's Zane's mother, Draco. It's that simple."

"But, she's an idiot."

Blaise smiled. "That's obvious to anyone who's ever spoken to her."

"Blaise, what does this all mean? So, she files for custody? Don't I automatically keep Zane because she gave up the custody in our divorce?"

"She _did_ give up any responsibility towards Zane, so that's why what she filed is called a petition. She filed a petition to fight for full custody."

"Full custody? This is ludicrous. She doesn't even like Zane."

Blaise sighed and loosened the tie from around his neck. "What does Pansy love most in the world?"

"Besides herself?" Draco asked with an ungraceful snort. "I don't know."

"She loves spending money, if I recall correctly."

Draco nodded. "You got that right. But I don't see what this has to do with Zane."

"If Pansy gets full custody of Zane, then you have to pay child support," Blaise explained. "You make a lot of money in magitecture, Draco, and she knows that. Even with the recent loss of your family inheritance, you are exceedingly wealthy."

"I should have given her more than ten percent during the divorce. I knew she was a greedy little newt-fart, but I didn't think she would ever do something like this."

"I still can't believe you donated your entire inheritance…" Blaise started to say when Draco shot him a strict look. "But, that doesn't matter now because we have to get this settled."

"Explain this petition thing to me," Draco said, leaning forward in his chair.

"Ok, so Pansy has filed the petition and she has six months to show the British Ministry of Magic's Department of Social and Family Services that she can provide a stable home for Zane."

"Oh, then we have nothing to worry about," Draco sighed. "She's living with her Italian lover and she doesn't have a job, so there's no possibility that they would grant her custody… Blaise, why are looking at me like that?"

"Pansy and Angelo D'Aggostino were married last week," Blaise said, pulling out a copy of a marriage certificate from a pile of papers.

"Married?" Draco mouthed, unable to get his voice to work.

"It's obvious that they want your money, Draco. We're dealing with two people who know exactly what they're doing. By getting married, they form a traditional family base for Zane to be a part of."

"Are you telling me that they would give her custody just because she's married?"

Blaise sighed and ran his well-manicured hand across his face. "Draco, I'm going to be completely honest with you. You've been my best mate for years and you've given me a godson that I love and you even designed my house. I'm going to tell you something that no other Judicial Advocate would tell you, but since I'm your friend, I'm going to help you out as much as I can."

Draco nodded for Blaise to continue.

"The Ministry of Magic is a center of backwards, archaic, neo-conservative stiffs who want every magical person to be a part of this organized, traditional community. It's the same in many muggle governments and it's been this way since the beginning of time. Man plus wife plus two-point-five children in a nice two-story house with a white-picket fence wrapped around the yard. That's their idea of normalcy."

Draco furrowed his eyebrows but listened closely to Blaise. _A fucking sociology lesson. Get to the point, Zabini._

"Now, divorce is a messy subject that no one likes to think about, so when we encounter it, we have no choice but to make the best out of the situation…"

Blaise stopped talking and let out yet another sigh. "The Ministry of Magic wants their family units to be flawless. Divorces ruin that perfection and single parents ruin it even further."

"They don't like single parents?"

"No, they don't. They believe that a child cannot be raised to their full capacity in a single-parent home."

"That's absolutely stupid. I know plenty of people who come from single-parent homes who have turned out better than people who have come from traditional families," Draco ranted. "If the Ministry has such a problem with single parents, then why the hell haven't they said anything before? I've been on my own with Zane for a month now."

"They don't have a problem with you raising Zane by yourself because Pansy gave up all rights to you. Now that she wants Zane back and can give him that traditional family, the Ministry is going to grant her that chance."

"You said that she has to prove to the Ministry that she can provide a stable home for him and it takes six months?"

"Yes, they start next month with inspections of her home, observing her and her husband once a week, maybe even twice a week. They get interviewed, their employers get interviewed, their friends get interviewed…"

"Who does the inspecting?"

"Domestic Ministry Professionals, DMP's for short," Blaise explained. "Now, Pansy has been employed in Paris with Versace, designing witch robes for their magic department…"

"They have a magic department?" Draco interrupted, showing his dismal knowledge of muggle-magic interculture.

"Yes, and apparently she has some sort of talent with it, so she has a small, but steady income," Blaise continued. "Her husband works as a translator for the Italian diplomat to France, also making a small but steady income."

"What happened to the ten percent of my inheritance that they got? It was nearly 10,000 galleons. That should have lasted them for the next twenty-five years."

"I'm sorry, have you not met Pansy before? You told me she bought a mirror that cost 100 galleons because it had authentic Dragon-scale leather trim and Veela charms. A hundred galleons could feed a large family for at least a month."

Draco closed his eyes and stabbed his fingers through his hair. "Ok, so what happens to Zane?"

"Well, because you have legal custody of Zane, he stays with you until Pansy passes inspection…"

"What are you not telling me, Blaise?"

Blaise shifted his eyes to the ceiling, taking a deep breath. "During these six months, you will also be inspected."

"Of course, my luck being the way it is, of course I'm going to be inspected for six months."

Blaise looked at Draco and took another deep breath. "You do know that as long as Pansy is married and you're not, at the end of those six months, no matter how much the DMP sees what a good father you are, they're going to give Zane to Pansy."

"You can't be serious," Draco said. "She doesn't even love her son. How can they possibly give him to her?"

"She poses as a traditional family that they yearn for. She can bullshit her way through the interviews claiming that she loves her son and they would have no choice but to believe her."

"Blaise… I… I, hell, Blaise, I can't lose my son!" Draco frantically exclaimed. "The way you're making it sound, I'm going to be losing him in six months."

Blaise frowned and stroked his chin slowly. "Draco, you do have one option available to you."

"What? What is it? I'll do anything," Draco quickly said.

"Get married and provide that traditional family base for Zane" Blaise said.

Draco stared at his friend for one second… two seconds… three seconds… ten seconds. "Get married?"

"Yes, get married before they start the inspections and once they see you with Zane and they see that strong rapport you have with him, they'll grant you full custody because then they'll base their decision on who Zane is better off with."

"So you're saying if both Pansy and I are married, then they'll base their decision on who makes the better parent? But how will they know how Pansy is as a parent if Zane is with me?"

"You haven't noticed by now that the Ministry is a bureaucratic, incompetent machine? They just want to inspect her as a person and apparently, that'll be the deciding factor in how she's judged as a parent. Bunch of idiots, but they're the idiots in power, so we have no choice."

"Ok, ok… so six-month inspection period and I get to keep Zane throughout its entirety?"

"Yes, and once the six months are over and Pansy is still married to Anthony or whatever his name is, then she gets Zane."

"But, if I get married, then I get to keep him?"

"You will most likely be granted full custody of Zane if you get married because you are an exceptional parent and that's what they would base their decision on _if_ you were married. They would interview you, your parents, Zane, of course, his teachers, me, and other people who interact with Zane."

"Ok, so when do the inspections start?"

"Three weeks. Pansy filed the petition last week and they give a one-month grace period before they start the inspection routines."

"Blaise, I have to get married," Draco said quietly. "I can't lose my son… I'll get married and provide the stupid traditional base for him."

"Draco, you're not dating anyone, are you?" Blaise asked.

Draco shook his head distractedly, a thousand thoughts going through his head.

"Well, how on earth are you going to get married if you're not even looking? You have three weeks to meet someone, fall in love, ask them to marry you, and then marry them. Let's not forget you have a child, which brings down your single female selection down considerably…"

"Oh, God… I can't even think straight. How am I going to get married? Three weeks isn't enough time," Draco mumbled.

"Listen, mate, go sleep on this and then get back to me tomorrow," Blaise said.

"I can't tomorrow, I have to take Zane to school and then I have meetings all day with some new clients," Draco sighed. "I'm so screwed, Blaise. I can't believe I might actually lose him."

"I'm sorry, Draco. It's awful and the Ministry's customs are outdated and downright stupid, but what can we do? Get back to me this weekend and hopefully one of us can figure something out before then."

Draco nodded numbly, his mind collapsing with so many things attacking at once. One thought kept a cycle in his head: _I might lose Zane._

"So, tell me, how does Zane like school so far?"

Draco couldn't help but sigh, his head beginning to throb. "He's having a blast. He likes his teacher, who just happens to be the one person in the world I hate more than Pot-smoker and Weasel del Rojo."

Blaise laughed at the crazy names the two of them had come up with back in their sixth year. "Don't tell me that Zane's teacher is the mud… muggleborn, Granger."

"None other," Draco said dryly. "And she now comes fully loaded with ultra-bitch accessories and the holier-than-thou attitude that I can't stand."

Blaise laughed again. "Poor Draco."

"Yeah, poor me. But Zane loves her because I'm starting to think she might have the kid possessed, I mean, seriously, how on earth does _my_ child worship Granger? He talks about how nice she is and how she always says the nicest things to him and a bunch of other shit that I don't like."

Blaise shrugged. "Things change, mate. That's life. You work with people you hate, you get to know them and turns out they're not so bad."

Draco raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not joking. Just last month I had to hire a new rookie Advocate for the medical malpractice department. Guess who it was."

"I don't know," Draco said tiredly.

"It was that Loony bird. Luna Lovegood waltzes in here with a CV full of recommendations and excellent credentials. I give her an interview, she tells me about some psychedelic mushrooms or some shit and I hire her on the spot. She's actually pretty competent when she's not spouting her theories on whatsits and whosits."

"The world must be coming to an end," Draco smiled.

"You're telling me?" Blaise smiled. "Now, go save your kid from my creature of a receptionist and owl me before the weekend. Talk it over with your parents and see if they have any ideas."

Draco nodded and got up from his chair. His life couldn't get any worse…

* * *

"So, Hermione, tell us how it's going over at your school," Molly Weasley asked as they all sat down to lunch.

"It's going great, Mrs. Weasley. Donny and I are really enjoying the kids and we're making such progress," Hermione explained.

Ginny, sitting next to Hermione, cocked her head to the side. "Ok, remind me again why you're a teacher. I'm sure you mentioned it before, but I don't seem to remember. I mean, you're the smartest person to graduate from Hogwarts and you end up being a _teacher?_"

Hermione stiffened and took a calming breath. "I'm sure you meant no offense, Ginny, but I think what I do is intellectually enlightening. I don't know who came up with the idiot notion that an educator can't be a smart person. Wouldn't you feel comfortable knowing that your child is learning from someone with above average intelligence?"

"That was a stupid thing to say, Ginny. I bet you wouldn't last a day doing what Donny and Hermione do," Harry spat from across the table.

Ginny felt her cheeks warm in embarrassment and anger. "Do us a favor, Harry, and shut up." She turned to Hermione. "I really didn't mean to offend you, Hermione. I just wondered why you chose to open a barely successful school when you could have worked as a Healer or an Auror."

Hermione suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. "None of those things interested me. I like molding the minds of children and working with them on a daily basis. They have innocence and a passion, a certain eagerness to learn that astonishes me. I've studied long and hard to start the school. I still read journals and documents on the advances in developmental studies and educational progress, so no one can accuse me of lowering myself for a job I really love."

"Well said, dear," Arthur Weasley said. "I completely agree with her. If only people didn't hold such ridiculous notions about the teaching profession, then that would be wonderful."

"Oh, I almost forgot," Harry said, ignoring the glare Ginny was sending his way. "I was on an assignment with Tonks a few days ago and she mentioned something about Wolf being friends with Draco Malfoy's kid. Was she serious?"

Hermione nodded slowly. "Yes, it's true that Wolf is really good friends with Zane Malfoy. But you forget the fact that they are cousins. They have every right to be friends."

"But didn't Malfoy completely freak? And when did he come back to England? I thought he was over on the continent."

"He moved here about a month ago and enrolled Zane at our school. Despite what you might think, Zane's an exceptional child and his father surprisingly had no problem with him being friends with Wolf. I think becoming a parent has changed some of his scruples."

"So, you teach his kid?"

"No, we hang him from the ceiling and let the other children whack him with sticks," Donny said. "It teaches them discipline."

Hermione shook her head. "Yes, _I_ teach him and like I said before, he's a wonderful child who is nothing like his father."

"Well, that just blows for you," Ron said sympathetically. "If I had to talk to Malfoy again, I'd probably end up killing him."

"Trust me, I've come close," Hermione muttered.

They all laughed and soon went on to talk about safer subjects, avoiding setting off a spark between Harry and Ginny, although Donny tried hard to. She confessed to Hermione that her television set was broken and that she couldn't watch any of her daytime dramas.

* * *

Lucius and Narcissa listened closely as their son paced in front of the massive fireplace in their sitting room, relaying everything he had been told by Blaise three days ago.

"What am I going to do?" Draco sighed, leaning against the wall. "I can't let her have him!"

"Draco, darling, sit down and let's think this out," Narcissa said softly.

"How am I going to get married in three weeks? I haven't dated since God-knows-when… who am I going to find who will marry me with a kid under my belt?"

"Stop talking so fast, Draco. You sound like Zane," Lucius said calmly.

"Why can't you take these six months to find a wife? Does it _have_ to be in these next three weeks?" Narcissa asked.

"They are going to start the examinations in three weeks. I spoke to Blaise again and he said my chances will increase if I'm already married by the time they start."

"That does make sense. If they want to see a classic family unit, then it would be better from the beginning," Narcissa nodded. "This is all so absurd, though. I think we're all providing Zane with a wonderful childhood."

"I need to get married," Draco muttered. "How on earth am I supposed to get married? How am I going to get some bird to fall in love with me in three weeks and then agree to marry me and help take care of my child?"

Lucius sat quietly for a second and looked between his wife and son. "I think I might have a suggestion that could help."

"What is it?" Draco asked.

"Why does it have to be a _real_ marriage? Why not have someone pretend to be your wife?"

"The DMP's check up on all my records. They would know if I wasn't really married," Draco sighed, his hopes deflating quickly.

"Yes, I understand that," Lucius continued. "Why don't you make it into a business transaction?"

"You mean, pay someone to act as my wife for six months?"

"Exactly. Money solves many of our problems."

"I see your point, let me just stop by Wives R' Us on my way home and pick one up," Draco retorted.

"Your father is on to something," Narcissa nodded slowly. "Find a friend, someone who would do you this favor and act as your wife and mother to Zane for six months. Strike up a deal with her and at the end of the six months, after you've been awarded full, legal custody of Zane, then you can file for a divorce and go on your separate ways."

Draco stayed quiet, absorbing his parents' suggestions.

"I don't have any female friends," he said. "I have female employees and acquaintances, but none that would agree to marry me for six months. Plus, how can I do this to Zane? I can't bring a woman into our lives and then expect him to be unaffected. What if he becomes attached to her?"

"I have an idea, Draco, and hear it out before you say anything. It solves almost all of your problems," Lucius said.

"You're speaking as if I'm not going to like this idea," Draco said cautiously, understanding his father's strange tone.

"You need to marry Hermione Granger."

_I need to stop gifting him Vodka for Christmas._

"This isn't a time for jokes, father. We need to stay focused and you need to lay off the liquor," Draco said.

Lucius raised an eyebrow in annoyance. "You need to marry her because Zane is already familiar with her, likes her, and wouldn't be affected when she leaves because he sees her every day at school."

"Good point, oh, but wait, there's the small problem of us hating each other to the point where I want to throw a nice unforgivable at her and then pop some popcorn and watch as she suffers."

"Business arrangement, Draco," Narcissa said. "Pay her."

"Despite my previous rants and opinions, she's not a prostitute," Draco said.

"You're not paying her to sleep with you, dear. You'd be paying her to help you out, to help Zane out. I heard that her school wasn't doing so well…"

"Where'd you hear that from?"

"The ladies in my social circles are such blabs and some of their husbands work at Gringott's. I heard that the school could be shutting down in the next few months due to lack of enrollment and lack of funds."

Draco swallowed. "She needs money, then."

"That's right, and you can give it to her. All she has to do is marry you, pretend to be your wife, live in your house, pass inspections and help you raise Zane."

"She can't be _that_ desperate for money," Draco mumbled.

"I think you need to do what's best for Zane. You need to put all your emotions aside and focus on what needs to be done so that the female version of Nosferatu you call an ex-wife doesn't end up with custody of your child."

"I thought you two hated Granger," Draco slowly said.

"She's an annoying little chit who thinks she knows everything there is to know about everything… but, she is also great with Zane and he's crazy about her. I only recommend her because I do not want you to lose custody of my grandson," Lucius explained.

"This is crazy… insane," Draco said, slumping down into an armchair.

"So, you have to talk to her, tell her what's going on, and explain that it will strictly be a business deal: her services and playacting in exchange for an immense monetary gain. You can give her as much as it would take to keep her school open for the next several years… and that's just the money you make from your career."

Draco narrowed his eyes at his parents, warning them not to chastise him about what he had done with his inheritance.

"Darling, if there were any other reasonable options we would encourage you to take them, but since this makes the most sense, we want you to consider it."

Draco nodded with a huge sigh. "I wish it wasn't the most reasonable option. But, after hearing your explanation, it seems that the frizzy phantom is my only choice."

"It won't be so bad, dear. You are both adults and I seem to think she cares greatly for Zane. You have to make a few changes, yes, such as ceasing with the name-calling and you have to learn to pick your battles. Not every little thing should turn into an argument."

"Wait, she hasn't even agreed to this and I'm telling you now, that she probably won't. This is ridiculous, she's not going to want to move into my home, marry me, and raise my son. She has a life of her own. How do we know she's not dating someone? Married to someone else?"

"Well, go ask her, you dolt. It's the only way you'll ever find out. If that turns out to be the case, then we'll think of someone else who will be nice enough to help us out," Lucius said.

"Fine, fine… God, I hate this," he said softly.

They all turned their heads when they heard a quiet knock at the door.

Zane's head poked into the room and he smiled at the three adults. "Can I come in, now?"

Draco nodded and Zane ran to his father and jumped into his lap. "I was bored, daddy. The house-elves wouldn't play hide-and-peek with me right. They kept cheating!"

Draco smiled down at his son who was explaining how the house-elves were all hiding together in the same place and helping their young master by making noises.

Looking at him, he knew that he would never, ever give Pansy the chance to take him away. He would fight for him until he had nothing left… and if that meant he had to marry the one person he hated more than anything in the world, then he would do it. All he could do now was hope that she would agree to his plan.

_Fat chance… now where did my father hide the Vodka?_

* * *

"I had a lot of fun, Hermione. Thanks for inviting me along," Donny said as she stood in the doorway of Hermione's flat.

"I'm glad you agreed to come with me," Hermione laughed. "I love Ginny, but sometimes her mouth works faster than her brain, so she ends up saying things that aren't entirely nice."

"Like how she couldn't fathom how such a smart person could even consider working such a simple profession?" Donny asked with a hint of acrimony. "I mean, seriously. We so rock and whoever doesn't like what we do can kiss our f…"

Hermione hugged Donny tight, preventing her from finishing her sentence. "Goodnight, Don. Apparate safely."

"I'll try not to land in an industrial sized dustbin," Donny smiled, bringing up the one time Hermione had found herself surrounded by rubbish.

"It was one time!" Hermione said, laughing gaily. "I was just a teeny bit tipsy from Remus and Tonks' wedding and I was having trouble with the three D's. That's all."

"Yeah, whatev," Donny said, waving as she backed out of the door. "Goodnight, rubbish Queen!"

Hermione laughed, shaking her head as her friend disappeared down the empty hall of her building. She closed the door behind her and took a deep, satisfied breath. It had been a nice day, enjoying lunch and dinner with the Weasleys, catching up on everything and everyone.

It was enough to make her forget her troubles…

She looked towards the coffee table, which served as a desk in her one-bedroom flat. It was a modest place, plainly furnished with nothing fancy. Simple and minimalist summed up her abode.

On the coffee table lay a stack of parchments and bills that she needed to have taken care of before the month was over. One of the older students that Donny taught had moved to Ontario the previous week, so they had lost the tuition that could have helped pay for one of the many things that needed to be paid.

_If only the stupid magical world wasn't so set in its ways! People need to understand that young children can thrive in a learning environment and can learn so many social habits and basic primary principles by being in an educational institution. Sure, there's nothing wrong with being taught at home… but damn, I do wish I had more students._

She sat down and checked the clock on the wall… almost nine o' clock. Soon, she'd be heading to take a shower to wash away all the stresses of the day.

A sudden knock at her door had her furrow her brows in confusion. _Did Don leave something here?_ She asked herself as she looked around her flat, walking towards the door.

She looked through the peephole and did a double-take, bumping her head against the door in the process. Lovely.

She didn't exactly believe what her eyes were relaying to her mind. It seemed as if Draco Malfoy was standing outside her door. He did look mighty funny through the distorted, concave glass of the peephole. But, now was not a time to move her head in different angles to see his facial features change sizes.

She hesitantly opened the door and stood staring at him, unsure of what to say.

"Malfoy?" she finally said. Not her best speech, but it would do.

"Hi, yes, um hello, Granger," he said.

Goodness, he seemed almost _nervous._ There was something she thought she'd never see.

"Hello," she replied carefully. _God, this is w-ei-rd!_ "How did you know where I lived?"

Draco looked at her as if he had just noticed her standing there. "You're listed."

"Oh," she said quietly. "Well, can I help you? Wait, where's Zane? Is he ok?"

Draco stared at his nails. "Yes, he's fine. He's spending the night with my parents." _She wasn't making this easier. She _really_ cared about his son. Cripes, he had no other choice._

"Ok, that's good," she said, smoothing down the knee-length denim skirt she wore. _What the _hell_ does he want?_

They stood there for a few seconds, neither of them saying anything, neither one of them looking at the other.

Finally, Draco lifted his head up and looked directly at her.

"Will you marry me?"


	6. Trouble That Can't Be Named

Disclaimer: All Harry Potter related characters, places and themes belong to J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury and Scholastic.

A/N: Thank you so much for all the reviews! The chapter title comes from the song "Clocks" by Coldplay.

* * *

**Chapter 6: Trouble That Can't Be Named **

…"_Will you marry me?"_

"Sure," Hermione replied. "How does next Wednesday sound?"

"Huh?" Draco asked, his mind not quite fitting all the pieces together.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I thought we were rehearsing for the 'you've lost your fucking mind' theatre," she said.

"Wow, Granger, do you kiss your mummy with that mouth?"

Hermione scowled at him, still confused as to what just happened. "If you're here just to annoy me, then you've succeeded. Now, can you leave so I can go back to hating you in solitude?"

Draco shook his head and sighed. "I'm sorry, that came out all wrong."

"I don't know how a marriage proposal from you directed at me can ever come out right," she said.

"I need to speak with you and I want you to hear me out," he said earnestly.

Hermione furrowed her brows and leaned against the doorway. "Have you been drinking?"

"No, but a drink would probably soften the blow," he replied. "You're dressed, so can I take you to the pub around the corner and we can talk?"

_God, he looks pathetic standing there not even a scowl or a smirk on that chiseled face of his. He actually looks like he really needs to talk to me._

"I'm still not sure what you're doing here," she said.

Draco looked like he was keeping his temper reigned in by clenching his fists. "I need to discuss something with you and I would appreciate it if you'd consent to give me a chance to explain everything."

Hermione bit the inside of her bottom lip, wondering if this was all some sort of sick ruse to lure her from her flat where she would be subject to almost all types of mischief. He _did_ look desperate…

If there was one thing that she'd perfected over the years, it was her immense curiosity. Right now was one of those times when it overruled all other thought processes.

"Ok, fine. Let me just grab my cloak," she relented.

Draco breathed a small sigh of relief, though it was very small because he knew he still had a lot ahead of him.

"Ready?" she asked, closing the door behind her and locking it with her wand.

He let her lead them out of the building and towards the pub down the street. The Tilted Kilt was a new pub that had only been open for a few months and it was a muggle one, due to the fact that Hermione lived in a muggle neighborhood.

Hermione watched as Draco went to the bar and ordered three fingers of brandy for him and a glass of _pinot noir_ for her.

_Typical male. I can order my own friggin' drink. But damn, how did he know what I liked?_

He handed her the glass and they walked towards the back of the dim pub and into a booth, sitting across from each other.

For the first minute, Hermione watched Draco trace his finger around the edge of his glass. He pursed his lips and moved them from side to side as he sat deep in thought. She took a sip of her wine and cleared her throat.

"Thank you for the drink. I'd pay you, but I left my wallet at home," she said quietly.

"Don't worry about it," he said gruffly after downing the entire content of his glass. "Ok, now that my throat is numb, I think I can explain everything."

Hermione took another sip of wine and watched Draco take a deep breath.

She put her glass down and waited for him.

"I might lose my son," he said after a second.

Hermione felt her jaw loosen and her eyes open slightly wider. "What do you mean you might lose your son?"

"I could lose full custody of him to my ex-wife," he said, rubbing his forehead.

"But… why?" she asked.

"When I got divorced, I was given custody of Zane since Pansy didn't much care for him…"

"Wait, Pansy is Zane's mother?"

"You sound surprised," he drawled.

"I knew you two were an item back in school…"

"To save face, I had the worst judgment as a teenager. She was willing and I was a randy adolescent," Draco explained, summoning the barkeep for another brandy.

"That much is obvious," she replied. "I never could understand how anyone could stand her."

"If it comes to the topic of Pansy Parkinson, we could agree to the nth detail. We could form a best friendship based just on our hatred of her, I assure you," he smiled slightly.

Hermione didn't know why she was smiling back. The prat actually had a sense of humor.

"Back to the point," he said. "Pansy wants custody of Zane and only for the reason of receiving the child support I would have to pay her. I'm being honest when I tell you that she doesn't love her son. Zane doesn't even recognize her as his mother and he even called her Pansy while we were still married."

"Poor Zane," Hermione mumbled.

"Poor _me_," Draco corrected. "She barely talked to the kid, but she always found time to annoy the shit out of me."

"I can believe that," she said, taking another sip. "I did partner with her once or twice for Potions. What I don't understand is if she doesn't love her son, then how can she gain custody of him?"

"She re-married," Draco said and was ready to explain the Ministry rules and traditions when Hermione gasped.

"How awful! Poor Zane," she whispered, her hand clutching the stem of the wineglass. "I absolutely hate the Ministry."

"Wait, you know about their custody customs?" he asked.

"Of course I do," she replied. "I've studied everything there is to know about laws concerning children and families. It's my specialty because before I opened the school, I wanted to become a Family Services Judicial Advocate. I changed my mind though once I researched uncontrollable magic in toddlers and young children."

"So, you understand that because Pansy is now married, no matter how horrible a mother she is, she'll still get to take Zane."

Hermione nodded solemnly. "I know… and I'm so sorry, Malfoy. I know you're a good father to Zane and he loves you and, oh my god…"

She drifted off, staring at him with her mouth wide.

"You're not serious, tell me you're not serious," she said, blinking rapidly.

"What?"

"I know that you get to keep Zane if you represent a family foundation by marrying someone. Malfoy, tell me you were joking when you asked me to marry you."

Draco sighed and traced the empty brandy glass with his fingers. "It's only for six months, Granger…"

"No, absolutely not. You _have_ completely lost your mind. I should be the last person to consider, mostly for the reason that I absolutely loathe you and everything about you. Might you have forgotten your extreme hatred towards me?"

"I haven't forgotten," he nearly growled. "You never give me a chance to forget."

"We can't go five minutes without fighting, Malfoy, I have no idea what went through your mind when you came to talk to me. I'm really sorry about all this, but I can't help you. I'm sorry."

She grabbed her cloak, lying next to her on the seat and straightened her knees to stand when she was caught off guard with Draco's hand on hers.

She froze and stared at his hand on top of hers, keeping her still. It was a very warm hand. Long, slender fingers… a silver ring resting on his thumb. Was it suddenly hot in the pub? Goodness, they needed to fix the bloody air conditioning system. Ok, his hand… very warm. Did we cover that?

"I can't lose my son, Granger," he said quietly, leaning forward. "He's everything to me and I wouldn't ask you if I didn't have a good reason."

"What's the reason?" she managed to ask, surprised to find her voice working. She moved her gaze to his and was surprised by the anxiety and the desperation radiating from those grey irises.

"You're the perfect choice because Zane is already attached to you and because when you leave at the end of the six months, he'll still get to be around you at school. I can't marry someone and then expect him not to be affected when she leaves for good."

"Marry someone you love, Malfoy. That way, they won't be able to leave," she said, easing her hand out of his.

He wouldn't let go of her hand. He held it tighter and squeezed her fingers gently. "I have three weeks before the inspections start. Do you know about the inspections?" He watched as she nodded slowly. "I don't have time to marry someone based on true love and all that bull."

Hermione looked away from him. His eyes were starting to disconcert her. He looked so needy and… human.

"I'm going to pay you and everything. A thousand galleons a month for the six months…"

Hermione dropped her jaw. "Six-thousand galleons? Have you gone insane? That's too much money."

"It's enough to keep the school open for the next ten, maybe fifteen years… and it's not all my money. My parents are giving half because they don't want me to hand Zane over to Pansy. Despite what you might think of them, they love their grandson and wouldn't want him to ever have the displeasure of being raised by her."

She looked at him closely. "You know the school isn't having the financial success it should… how'd you know?"

"My mother has acquaintanceships with ladies who are married to the right people. They aren't the most discreet sort. I can find out things about almost anyone."

"I don't think I can accept so much money," she said.

"Don't think of it as accepting it. I'm paying you to help me out. Think of it as a job; you're earning it for marrying me, being a mother to Zane and passing the inspections."

"A job? I don't know…" she said, biting her lip. His hand still held hers. Her mind was suddenly filled with the strange notion that she wanted to paint his nails. Maybe she should have had less sips of wine.

"Please, Granger. I'm completely ignoring my ego and begging you to help me out. Listen, don't do it for me… do it for Zane. You like him, right?"

Hermione seemed startled. "Of course I like him. He's a wonderful child."

"Do you want him to end up with Pansy? Would you wish that on your worst enemy? Wait; that would be me. Would you wish that on me?"

She smiled lightly. "I don't know about this. You're right; I don't want Zane to be taken away from you because like I said before, you're a great father to him. I… I just…so if I'm married to you for six months, I won't be able to date other men will I?"

"We would have to make it seem as real as possible. If you slept with an undercover DMP, we would be screwed. Or if you went and shagged some idiot who can't keep his mouth shut and Pansy or the DMPs found out, then they will know we're faking it."

"So, I'm supposed to just forget about my sex-life for six months?"

He raised his eyebrow in a smug gesture. "Sex-life? Be honest, Granger."

She dropped her jaw and Draco could practically see the steam coming out of her ears... until she sighed tiredly. "Ok, I don't have much of a sex-life."

"If by 'much of a', you mean none at all..."

She threw him a nasty look and snatched her hand from his. "For your information, Draco Malfoy, I've had my share of men and I'm willing to bet they're ten times the lover you are."

"We can sit and discuss how wonderful I am as a lover, Granger, but that would take too long and I really have to get some other things done today."

He instantly sobered up when she made to leave again. He grabbed her hand once more to stop her."Listen, I know I'm asking you to give up a lot, but I'm asking you for this because I love my son, Granger. I love him more than anything on this earth and if I lose him..." he shook his head. "I can't lose him. I know I haven't been the nicest person to you, nor do I plan to start, but I have no other reasonable options."

Draco released her hand. "I'll give you time to think about my offer. I need to know by tomorrow night, though, in case I have to find someone else to help me out. Although, I doubt I'll be able to do it without ruining my son's future outlook on life."

"Guilt, Malfoy? You're going to use guilt to persuade me?"

"I've tried begging, I'm giving you more than enough money… I've run out of options, Granger. I'm also running out of time. Get back to me by midnight tomorrow with your answer."

He stood up from the booth and left her sitting there, staring at the empty bench he had previously occupied.

_What the hell just happened?_

* * *

Hermione reached her flat and picked up the note taped to the door. It was almost eleven at night and she had walked very slowly from the pub, her mind filled to the brim with so many provoking and staggering thoughts.

She opened the note as she unlocked her door and read the unfamiliar scrawl.

_Don't tell anyone about our conversation. If you choose to help me, no one can know it's a false marriage. No one. If you don't agree to help me, well, I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone that I begged. My pride is wounded enough._

_-DM_

She couldn't help the smile that skimmed across her lips. She had driven the dangerously arrogant Draco Malfoy to begging. Begging a muggleborn. The victory was sweet, yet she had no one to tell. Harry and Ron would have loved to hear about how Malfoy had pleaded with her for her help. Donny would probably want to know what he was wearing and if she was able make out his abs through his shirt.

She banished the silly thoughts away and walked into her flat.

Her thoughts went back to the mental conflict she had spent the last two hours mulling over. She knew what the right choice was… she knew she couldn't just reject his offer for help. That would be cruel.

She was Hermione Granger. She was a sweet, compassionate, selfless person. Someone had asked for her help. They _needed_ her help.

Draco Malfoy _needed_ her. Zane, his adorable, innocent, loving son, _needed_ her. She had formed a small bond with the boy, who had had no maternal influence in his life. For some strange reason, she had unconsciously reached out to him with her tenderness and that female nurturing he had never received.

Could she give up six months of her life to help the one person who had made her years at Hogwarts less than perfect? She hated him. Still hated him. He was rude, arrogant, condescending, made people feel bad about themselves… why should she give up an entire half of a year to help him?

But then again, there was sweet, little Zane. _Oh, and the six friggin' thousand galleons!_

The money could set Little Witches and Wizards Education Centre up for the next few years and even accept some students on scholarships who didn't have enough money to attend. She would never have to dock any money from Donny's or her paycheck ever again… they could even have raises.

But then, there was the ass-face, Malfoy.

But then, there was enough money to save her school.

But then, there was being married to the ass-face.

But then, there was helping Zane stay with the person who loved him the most.

But then, there was the ass-face.

Helping the ass-face keep his son, who he had said was 'everything to him'.

Six thousand galleons.

Helping Zane, an innocent child in all of this.

Married to, living with, speaking to… ass-face

Her head hurt.

* * *

Zane watched as his father paced back and forth in front of the fireplace in their living room. His daddy was so tall! He hoped when he was a growmup that he could be tall just like him. Then he could reach the ice cream in the freezer and the chocolate biscuits Gamma kept on the counter. Then he could step on short people.

Then he could fly a broom! God, how he wanted to fly a broom, just like Daddy. But he wasn't big enough. That's what Daddy always said.

"Why are you walking?" Zane asked after he realized that nothing interesting was happening.

Draco stopped and looked at his son, sitting on the couch and holding his stuffed tyrannosaurus rex. "I like walking."

"Why do you keep looking outside of the window? Are you going to get an owl?" Zane asked excitedly. The owl post still fascinated Zane, who practically squealed whenever he caught sight of an owl, especially Infidel, his father's eagle owl.

"Yes, I'm waiting for an important letter," Draco explained.

"From who?"

Draco cracked his knuckles. _Damn, he asks a lot of questions._ "From someone who might help me out on something… for work."

"I miss going to your work, Daddy," he said. "I 'member I could always twirl around in your chair until I got so dizzy!"

Draco smiled. "I _'member_ how you threw up on me after you did that on a full stomach."

Zane giggled. "I didn't throw up, Daddy!"

"Oh, yes, you did; all over my business suit-robes. I smelled like spoilt milk and butt until I could find my wand to clean it all up which took a good hour or so"

Zane laughed, throwing his hands to his face in pure mirth. "You said butt!"

Draco watched his son laugh to near tears. His sick, wicked mind almost thought of the possibility that he might not hear that laugh after six months…

No. He was _not_ going to lose his son. Even if Granger didn't come through for him, he would do whatever it took…

Three rapid knocks on their front door snapped the two males' attentions to the foyer. Zane jumped off the couch, eager to see who was visiting right before bedtime.

Draco grabbed the back of his son's shirt and lifted him up onto the side-table located in the foyer, setting him down before going to the door. He wasn't expecting any guests. Maybe it was his mother, coming to make sure they weren't eating frozen dinners.

He looked through the peephole and felt a band of nervousness tighten around his gut. Hermione stood outside his door, holding on to the strap of her purse as if it were some sort of lifeline. Her knuckles were actually white.

Was she nervous about telling him that she was rejecting his offer?

_Pessimism will get you nowhere._

He opened the door and winced when Zane let out a yell.

"MISS HER-MI-ONE!"

Hermione smiled brightly as Zane jumped off the side-table with the grace of a feline and ran to hug her. She knelt down and hugged him tight when he reached her. For such short legs, he sure could run fast.

"You comed over to my house! Can I show you my room and my toys and my daddy's room and my bathtub and my kitchen and my di-osaur toy? His name is Rosie. Daddy doesn't like my di-osaur's name, but my Gamma helped me pick it because she said boy di-osaurs can have girl names and I liked the name Rosie and then Gampa said boy di-osaurs can't have girl names because that would be gay. And Daddy told me gay means happy so boy di-osaurs can have girl names because that would be happy!"

Zane grinned toothily at his teacher and waited for her response.

"That is so interesting, Zane. I would love to see your dinosaur and I agree with your grandmother. Rosie is a very nice name," she said with a smile lighting up her face.

Draco hated noticing how she smiled at his son. It made him not want to kill her as much. He didn't like that feeling.

"Do you know what would be a very good thing?" she asked Zane.

"What?" he asked.

"I think that you should always use the word 'happy.' It's a very nice word and some people don't like to hear the other word. Happy is so much more fun to say."

He nodded. "Happy, happy, happy, happy. It _is_ so much fun to say! Come see my room."

"Ah, Z, I think you should go pick out your pyjamas and then pick out what story you want me to read tonight," Draco said, before Zane invited his teacher to live with them forever.

Zane gave the most dejected, puppy-dog look he could muster (A trick Draco had taught him to use on Pansy's friends when they came over for tea. It always managed to get him a few sympathy points and make Pansy look bad. Oh, the tricks they played on that woman.).

"Can I pick two stories?" he asked.

"Yes, now hurry your skinny bum," Draco said, pushing his son slowly out of the room.

Hermione heard the boy's giggles disappear down the hall and smiled as she stepped into the foyer, closing the front door behind her. Draco turned to look at her and he ran his fingers through his hair. "Would you like something to drink?"

"No, thank you," she said quietly, looking around the foyer at the pieces of art Narcissa had bought.

"Come, I'll give you an abbreviated tour if you'd like," he said, uncomfortable in his own skin. Social awkwardness was never his forte. He had always been so suave before, but maybe because his future was hanging on the line… the suaveness had completely evaporated.

Hermione smiled knowingly. "It's quite alright, I just wanted to speak to you and give you my answer."

"Um, ok. I was actually expecting an owl. But, you're right; face-to-face is much more awkward and uncomfortable."

She couldn't help but laugh nervously. He led them to the living room, which was nicely decorated with leather upholstery and modern décor. He gestured for her to take a seat on one side of the couch while he took a seat on the other side.

She sat with her hands folded in her lap, over her purse. Were her knuckles always so white?

Draco leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees. "Before you say anything, I just want to thank you for not rejecting me flat-out. That you actually considered my offer means a lot to me and means a lot to Zane, even if he doesn't have a clue of what's going on."

Hermione nodded and suddenly felt a hint of compassion for the man sitting across from her, tapping his heel nervously against the hardwood floors.

"I spent all night, this whole morning and all afternoon up until I knocked on your door thinking about your offer. I even wrote out a list of the pros and cons and did some more research on the Ministry's laws on child custody and divorce."

"That's quite… industrious," he commented, hiding a grin by pursing his lips.

She rolled her eyes. "I can't believe you're making fun of me. No, wait, I can believe it. It was number four on my cons list. Our inability to be civil to each other for a prolonged period of time."

Draco sighed. "Can you just tell me the answer so I can stop being so nervous?"

Hermione took a breath and looked into his eyes, a risky action in itself. "I want to help you."

Draco physically relaxed, his smile lifting the spirits of the room tenfold. "Really?"

"Yes, I'll marry you and help you for the six month inspection period."

He took her hand in his and softly grasped her fingers. "Thank you so much. I really can't begin to show you my gratitude."

Hermione took her hand back. "Your money will be gratitude enough."

Draco nodded. "Of course. This is purely a business transaction. I'll even make out a contract if you want."

"We can write it out right now because I have about a trillion questions," she said.

"Why am I not surprised?" he mumbled.

"Oh, wedded bliss," Hermione sighed dramatically. "I'm going to love being married to you."

Draco internally flinched. He was already screwing everything up by being a horse's ass. He couldn't help it though! Cripes, give the man a break… she was so easy to tease and mock. It wasn't _his_ fault.

"Sorry. You know you can back out at any time. I'm not going to force you to stay or anything," he said quietly, walking to the adjoining room to grab some parchment, ink and a quill.

"I want you to learn that I keep my word on everything. I told you that I want to help and I'll help. Nothing you do could make me break my verbal commitment. I'm used to your idiocy by now."

"Thank you, then," he said. "I'll also keep my word. Ever since I had Zane, I've found it difficult to break my word to anyone. He's almost like my conscience. I feel as if he's always with me, watching what I do… and I don't want him turning out rotten."

"I've come to realize that Zane has changed you somewhat for the better. Don't get me wrong, you're still a conceited jerk, but a somewhat softer, conceited jerk."

"It's good to know our hate for each other shall not change because of this," he said dryly.

"That's something I don't understand. We _hate_ each other. You said that you only chose me because Zane sees me in school and when we end this at the end of the six months, it won't have that much of an effect on him… you could have easily asked Donny."

"He doesn't dote on her as much as he dotes on you. I hear your name constantly from the kid's mouth and even you have to admit that he's attached to you."

Hermione nodded. "It's just all so strange. You really hate me and all because I'm muggleborn…"

"Wait, wait… I don't hate you because you're a muggleborn."

She looked at him with disbelief.

"I hate you because you're annoying. That's the only reason I ever hated you. I only used to call you that, um, that word, because it would infuriate your friends. I knew it didn't bother you, but seeing Hairy-scrotum and Measly get all worked up when I used it was quite funny."

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't call them that."

"You're right. I guess I have to actually learn to tolerate their presence if we have to convince them that we're happily married."

"Oh, God. I've forgotten that we have to tell everyone. Oh, God. We have to pretend like we're in love. Oh, God we have to pretend as if this is all real. Oh, God. Oh, God, they're going to absolutely hate me."

"If they're going to hate you because of this, well then they're not as good of friends as you might have thought," he added.

She looked at him for several seconds. "Sometimes you say things that are too wise to come out of your mouth. You never cease to surprise me."

"I'm a piñata of surprises," he said with no emotion. "Now, let's get to this contract."

"Daddy! I'm ready!" Zane said from the doorway, holding his pyjamas in one hand and two books in the other. Rosie the boy di-osaur was caught somewhere in between.

Draco turned an apologetic look towards Hermione. "I should put him to bed before we start."

"Should we maybe talk to him before he sleeps?" Hermione asked with a smidgen of apprehension. "About what's going to happen?"

"Oh… yes. That would be fine," he said, bending down to pick up Zane.

"How would you like it if I read you one of those stories, Zane?" Hermione asked.

His cherub-like face lit up. "I would like it a lot! Can she read to me, Daddy? You read one and Miss Hermione reads one?"

Draco nodded and noticed Hermione smile even brighter. "He said my name right without slowing down."

He was amazed at how proud she looked, how pleased she was. She followed them into Zane's bedroom and proceeded to listen as Zane explained every toy and every item existing in his room.

"And this is my bed where I sleep all the time at night and these are my green covers and my green pillows because green is the best color."

"You've brainwashed the poor child," Hermione muttered to Draco.

Draco smiled coyly and winked at his son who giggled and jumped into the bed, his pyjamas on and Rosie firmly tucked into his side.

Draco and Hermione each read him a story that he had picked out and then turned to each other, wondering how to break the news to the little boy.

As his father, Draco took it upon himself to start. He sat on one side of the bed while Hermione stood on the other side.

"Zane, I have some news for you," he started off.

The young boy looked at his father expectantly with wide, silver eyes.

"Miss Hermione and I have decided to get married."

"Wow!" Zane said. "Why?"

"Why?" Draco repeated. "Um…"

"Because we love each other, Zane," Hermione interrupted.

Draco turned a sharp look at her. _Is she fucking kidding me?_

"When two people love each other, they get married," she explained.

"You love Daddy?" Zane asked, his dirty-blond brows furrowed.

"Yes," she replied.

_Liar, liar, pants… her entire wardrobe… on freakin' fire!_

"You love Miss Hermione?" Zane asked his father.

Draco nodded, unable to tell that big of a lie without bursting out into uncontrollable laughter.

_I'm going to parent-hell for lying to the kid. It's ok, Lucius will also be there. It won't be so bad. _

"Am I still going to live here?" he asked, throwing Draco off-track.

"What?"

"You and Miss Hermione are getting married. You're going to have a new family," Zane explained. "Am I going to live with Gamma and Gampa?"

Draco reached out and held his son's chin in his hand. "Listen, Z. You will always stay with me, no matter what I do, where I am, or who I'm with. I will never let anyone take you from me and I will never replace you with anyone. Got it?"

Zane nodded quickly and looked at Hermione beneath his eyelashes. "Is she going to be my mummy?"

Draco looked to Hermione who bit her lip. "Uh, she's going to be your step-mum."

"What's that?" Zane asked.

"It just means I'm going to be your new mummy," Hermione lamely explained, shrugging at Draco.

"Can I call you mummy? I've never called anyone mummy before and you're going to be my new mummy and Miss Hermione is sometimes hard to say because it's long and mummy is easy to say," Zane said.

Draco rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged at Hermione, throwing the proverbial ball in her court. Zane looked to his father to answer since Hermione was speechless.

"If Miss Hermione doesn't mind, you can call her that," Draco finally said, giving in to the inevitable.

_I think Tom Riddle Sr. might also be in parent-hell…I wonder what he's like._

"You can call me mummy, Zane," Hermione conceded, her heart breaking for the poor boy who had never had a real mother-figure.

"Ok," he replied and lay back on the pillows. "I'm sleepy now, goodnight. Get out."

Draco and Hermione shared a smile at Zane's bluntness. He _did_ have the lack of tact that came from the maternal side of Draco's family.

They found themselves back in the living room, this time, sitting next to each other to start working on the contract.

"I hate lying to him," Draco said quietly before they started working.

"Once you get full, physical custody of him granted to you by the Ministry, then it will all be worth it. I'm sure he'll forgive you when you tell him the truth in the future," she calmly told him.

"I'm just glad that once I'm granted the custody by the Ministry, Pansy can't re-petition. I can get this all over with in the next six months and never worry about her again."

"If you don't mind me asking, how did you end up having Zane with her? It seems you really hate her."

"We both got shit-faced at Blaise's nineteenth birthday party. We ended up having sex in one of his closets and Zane was conceived. I don't think I'll ever tell him that story. His future therapy bill is large enough."

She smiled and reached for the quill and inkwell. "Alright, let's get started."

* * *

Two hours, seven butterbeers, forty-six arguments and ninety-two curse words later, they had finally completed the contract.

_I, Hermione Granger, do agree to join Draco Malfoy in authentic matrimony and pose as his wife for the period of six months. The inspection period begins on the_ fifteenth of March_ and ends on the_ fifteenth of September_. I agree to wed Draco Malfoy on the_ fourth of March_ to allow one, Zane Malfoy, son of Draco Malfoy, to become accustomed to the altered domestic situation._

_I, Hermione Granger, do agree not to disclose the fact to anyone that the aforementioned marriage is not genuine. I understand that it is of utmost importance that no one is privy to the knowledge of our false marriage due to the likelihood that a Domestic Ministry Professional could discover the farce. Only in the company of others I shall act the role of devoted wife and mother._

_I, Draco Malfoy, do agree to join Hermione Granger in authentic matrimony and pose as her husband for the period of six months. I agree to wed Hermione Granger on the_ fourth of March_ to allow one, Zane Malfoy, son of mine, to become accustomed to the changed domestic situation._

_I, Draco Malfoy, do agree, only in the company of others to act the role of devoted husband to one, Hermione Granger. I agree to finance Hermione Granger with the promised amount of six-thousand galleons, one-thousand galleons each month, for the duration of the six months._

_I, Draco Malfoy, do agree to pay for all Hermione Granger's necessities (clothes, food, housing, and other personal items) for the duration of our six-month marriage._

_We, Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger, hereby agree to address each other by our given names and to practice even in private to prevent slip-ups._

_Draco Lucius Malfoy – DM_

_Hermione Jean Granger – HG_

* * *

Draco walked Hermione to the door of his flat and shook hands with her. "I thank you again, Hermione. I really appreciate your help."

She smiled softly and wrapped her cloak tighter around her body. "It's strange hearing you say my first name."

"If it weren't in the contract, trust me, I'd feel equally strange," he said.

"I cast a spell on the contract, by the way, after you made the copy. No one but us can read what we've written, so there's no need to worry about a DMP finding it."

"Thank you," he said. _She gets it! You're thankful! Now, shut up._

"So, tomorrow we're going to your parents' home to tell them and then to Kensington to tell my parents. They're not going to be entirely thrilled that I'm getting married in a week and haven't even told them. We can improvise a story when we get there. Then, we have to tell the Weasleys and the Lupins and Harry and Donny, of course."

"I have to be there for those last few ones?" Draco asked with a slight scowl.

"I'd appreciate it if you were there, just so we can present a united front. You'd have to be on your best behavior though and actually pretend like you want to be friends with them all. Remember, we're in love. I just have to think of some sort of story to tell them of how we ended up engaged..."

"Oh, that reminds me," he said and disappeared from view, leaving her standing in the foyer waiting for a minute.

He came back and held out a ring to her. "To make it official and all, since we have to convince everyone," he paused. "I borrowed it from my mother's collection."

She looked down at the ring coated in white gold and bearing a princess-cut diamond. It was beautifully simple and elegant. She slipped it on her ring finger and looked back up at him as he watched her.

"Um, yes, thank you. So, the day after we tell everyone, I can bring Zane home from school with me, that way you don't have to pick him up. I can come here and we can begin to plan the wedding. I'd rather we eloped, but if we want everyone to really believe it, a small wedding will be appropriate. Plus, the more people who see us married, the less suspicious the DMPs will be."

"Sounds fine," he said quietly.

She looked at the ring on her hand and then into his soulful greys. "I really do _want_ to help, Draco. I don't want to see Zane end up with Pansy and I don't want you to lose your son."

He nodded and smiled slowly at her. "I appreciate everything you're doing for us. I'll make sure you have enough money to keep your school running for as long as you wish, even after the six months are over."

Her brain must have decided that it was temporarily out of service as it seemed to leave her instincts in charge, for her next action completely took the both of them by surprise. She leaned over and kissed his cheek softly.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she said quickly and left his flat to go chastise her stupid brain. _Stupid, stupid, stupid!_

Draco stared at the closed door and slowly reached up to touch his cheek. _Life has officially turned interesting. Very annoyingly interesting._


	7. Contemplate the Day We Wed

Disclaimer: All Harry Potter related characters, places and themes belong to J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury and Scholastic.

A/N: Thank you all again so much for the reviews! The chapter title comes from the song: "The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows" by Brand New

* * *

**Chapter 7: Contemplate the Day We Wed**

Hermione craned her neck trying to look at the Malfoy manor all at once. She had seen cities that were smaller.

"It's a French Baroque," Draco explained as they walked up the long, straight path from the Apparition point. "The _corps de logis,_ which is the principle part of the house that contains the entrance and main rooms, is situated in the middle of the manor, making it the first thing you see. The side wings are scaled down and don't take up as much precedence as an early Renaissance might."

Hermione stared at him, nodding along and pretending that she hadn't lost him at the quick French he had spit out. She usually would have understood, being the incredibly intelligent Hermione Granger, but small rocks kept finding their way into her sling-backs, making her wince and step slower along the rock-lined path.

"You must really love the place to know so much about it," she said, trying to keep the conversation civil.

"I did my magitecture thesis on this place."

She turned to look at him and nearly tripped. "Magitecture? You're a magitect?"

"My own fiancée knows nothing about me," he said, holding his hand to his chest in mock sadness. "Yes, I passed my MAE and became a licensed magitect when I turned eighteen."

"Impressive," she said, truly meaning it. "I read that magitecture is one of the highest paying jobs in the magical world."

He didn't reply, but stuffed his hands into the pockets of his dark grey slacks. He had gone sans a robe or cloak and Hermione admitted (stupid, traitorous brain) that he looked really nice in a business suit.

"I'm guessing that you truly love your job because with the Malfoy inheritance, you wouldn't need to work a day in your life," she said. To tell the honest truth, she was fishing for information. It had piqued her curiosity when she knew that he worked… why on earth would an heir need to work?

"I do love my job," he said, not explaining.

Hermione decided to save the interrogation for another time. He'd crack soon.

"Mummy, look!" Zane yelled from ahead of them. He had already accustomed himself to the circumstances. It felt weird that it _didn't_ feel weird when he called her that. Weird.

"What am I looking at, Zane?" she asked, looking in the direction he was pointing.

"It's my tree! Gamma said she planted it when I was a baby. It has my same name!" he said happily.

Hermione saw the short tree planted in the middle of an expansive front garden. "It's a beautiful tree. Do you know how to take care of trees?"

"Yes! You have to put on them water and they have to have the sun!" he answered, increasing his speed towards the massive building.

Hermione looked over at Draco. "You should be extremely proud of him. He is exceptionally bright."

"I _am_ proud of him. More than is healthy, I think," he replied, watching his son stop to pick up a smooth rock and pocket it. "So, do you always go into teacher mode with your little quizzes? I need to know in case I have to dust off my old encyclopedia."

"Ha-ha," she said dryly, hating herself when a small smile betrayed her scold. "It's important for children to constantly stay intellectually stimulated."

"Right, I'll try and remember that," he said.

She ignored his dry tone since they had finally, _finally!,_ reached the entrance to the manor. The doors looked bigger than the floor-plan of her old flat.

Draco pulled out his wand and pointed it to the door knocker about twenty feet above them.

"How would a non-magic person knock on the door if the knocker is so high up?" Hermione asked.

"Think about that question. What on earth would a non-magic person be doing at the Malfoy residence?" Draco asked, putting his wand back in the wand holster on the inside of his sports coat.

"Good point," she mused. She stayed quiet as they waited for the door to open. "I'm really glad your parents know about all of this. I don't know if I could have acted so in love with you around them. I'm not going to lie. Your parents are intimidating and scare the bejesus out of me."

"Gamma and Gampa?" Draco asked with a grin. "But they're so cuddly!"

"About as cuddly as a venomous cobra," Hermione mumbled, eliciting a small rumble of laughter from Draco. Had she even heard him laugh like that before? It sounded so nice… so non-Draco… ish.

"They do come off as a bit cold, but you should see my mother around Zane. She melts and turns into a completely different woman. It's hilarious to me."

She liked this. Not fighting with the a-hole. It was actually fun.

The door opened then to reveal a tiny house-elf dressed in, what appeared to be, a tutu and cowboy hat. Hermione had to shake her head to make sure she wasn't seeing things.

"Hi, Poodle!" Zane said, hugging the house-elf.

Hermione heard Draco mumble underneath his breath something about 'that kid' and 'hugs' and 'ridiculous.'

"Young Master, I am ever so happy to see you!" Poodle the house-elf squeaked. "And Master Draco! Please come in. Shall I announce that you have arrived with a guest?"

"No need, thank you. They already know we're here," Draco said, placing his hand on Hermione's elbow and leading her through the gargantuan foyer.

"That house-elf is wearing clothes. Odd clothes, but still, clothes," she said to him, ignoring the warmth of his hand on her bare arm. Bare arm brought to her by the generous funding of a dark blue halter dress.

"All of the house-elves here wear clothes," he explained. "When Zane was three, he made them all play dress-up with him, accidentally freeing them all. My father almost nutted himself and was surprised to find out that none of them wanted to leave. They did want to keep the clothes, though. My favorite is the upstairs elf that wears a kimono and fez."

Hermione was stunned into speechlessness. So much for her planned speech on house-elf rights and freedoms. Draco was right. He _was_ a piñata full of surprises that she wanted to beat with a stick to get to them all.

They reached a set of double doors that were nearly as large as the front doors. Zane reached up before either of them could and swung open the door, sprinting inside with gleeful shouts of 'Gamma' and 'Gampa.'

Hermione followed Draco into the room, taking the exotic room in with wide eyes. It was huge! So nicely decorated… and situated on a couch near the enormous bay window sat Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy. The Ice King and Queen.

Zane stood before them explaining at an inhuman rate everything that had happened since he had last seen them. Lucius wasn't paying attention to the boy, mostly because he had no idea what he was saying, but Narcissa sat nodding along, smiling and gasping at all the right points.

Draco urged Hermione forward, his warm hand still on her elbow. They stood before his parents who promptly stood up after making Zane promise to tell his story later.

"Mother, father, this is Hermione Granger," he introduced. No flowery speech or any nonsense. Straight to the point.

Lucius picked up Hermione's outstretched hand and bowed over it. "A pleasure to meet you, Miss Granger."

"You as well, Mr. Malfoy. Although, we've met before, under less than pleasant circumstances."

Lucius lifted an eyebrow and sneered slightly.

"You're right, we did meet once in your second year, I believe, and then again in your fifth," he said with a snarky little smile. "Most disagreeable circumstances those were. Days of meddlesome little children..."

"And this is my mother, Narcissa," Draco said, giving his father a warning stare. _Shut up, you idiot. She's my only goddamn hope to keep my son!_

Lucius pursed his lips together and took a seat on the couch, standing back up again to find a toy underneath his posterior. He handed the toy to Zane with a reproachful look. Zane smiled back at his grandfather and dashed off to the bay window where a box of toys awaited him.

"You'll have to excuse my husband, dearest," Narcissa said, shaking hands with Hermione. "He can be a tad unreasonable when it comes to the past."

Hermione was beyond surprised at the woman she had thought to be a type of Lucius with a vagina. "Oh, it's not a problem. The past is something that is better left in the past."

"I must say, that you are very much prettier than Draco described," Narcissa said, making Hermione take a seat right next to her.

"Wow, Zane come show us that toy!" Draco said, trying to divert the conversation.

Hermione smiled. "Really? How did he describe me? Don't keep out any details, I'd really like to know."

"Well, that's the thing. He's never really described you past the minor insults he uses. He uses frizzy Frankenstein and bitchy Mcbitch quite often," Narcissa said politely and quietly so that Zane wouldn't hear them. But the room was so damn big, she could have used a megaphone and Zane still wouldn't have heard her.

Draco internally groaned and sank into the armchair opposite of them.

"I don't think your hair is frizzy at all," Narcissa continued. "I used to draw, you know. Mostly portraits... you have a very paintable face. You see, the chignon really defines your long neck and slim jaw-line and accentuates your high cheekbones. I must say, it also makes your big, bright brown eyes stand out so beautifully. You've such a sweet face."

Hermione fought her impending blush with all her might, but failed miserably. "This chignon is disguising the frizz very well," Hermione smiled. "If I took out the pins and the band holding it all together, I'd have to change seats to prevent engulfing you with my hair."

Narcissa laughed and patted Hermione's hand. "A girl that can poke fun at herself is clearly a girl I can get along with. I don't understand why Draco doesn't like you."

"It's a mutual dislike, I assure you. We're comfortable with our hate-hate relationship. Truthfully, I actually thought he hated me because I was muggleborn," Hermione said.

"Oh, not that rubbish again. Darling, I lived with it for years and to tell you my honest opinion, it lost all of its novelty ages ago. It's not so fun watching your son endanger his life for a stupid, stupid cause. I stopped speaking to Lucius for weeks after that fiasco. I have no idea why the male species runs the world. No wonder we have so many problems. Am I right or am I right?"

"Absolutely right," Hermione smiled. How could such a bubbly woman live with those two bats for so long and still stay so wonderfully amiable? She could learn to really like her.

"Are you two hens finished?" Lucius asked grumpily.

"Hens?" Narcissa turned a frozen stare to her husband. "I didn't know you were so fond of sleeping in the guest room, dear."

Lucius opened his mouth to say something, but closed his mouth again.

Hermione had to suppress a laugh and looked at Draco, who seemed to be used to this sort of occurrence.

"Now, dearest, I must thank you for helping us with all of this. It takes a very strong, kind woman to give up six months of her life to help someone she dislikes out of a bind. You're giving up an immense amount of benevolence and I thank you with all I possess."

"If I wasn't accepting the money I was getting, then maybe I would agree with you, but this is just a business deal and I _am_ accepting money, so I'm not as altruistic as you may think."

"Nonsense," Narcissa said, ending the conversation. "You have a kind heart and you can't change my mind. I'm horribly obstinate, stubborn just like all the other Blacks."

Hermione thought she heard Lucius mumble something to the extent of 'you can say that again.'

"Zane, my darling boy, come finish telling me your story," Narcissa called out to her grandson.

Zane looked up from the toy wand he was pointing at Rosie the dinosaur and smiled at them. He ran a few steps, toy wand in hand, before he was suddenly stopped by what appeared to be a spell. Lucius, his own wand pointing at the boy, walked over to his grandson and plucked the toy wand from his tiny fist.

"We must never run with a wand in hand, Zane. You know that," he said in a low voice.

"Oops, sorry Gampa," Zane said quietly. "I forgot."

"It is easy to forget so many rules, but they are there to make sure you never get hurt," the older man explained.

In a shocking gesture, Hermione watched the stiff aristocrat kneel down before the boy and kiss his head. "Now run along," he said.

Zane smiled up at his grandfather and then dashed over to the other adults before going into a long discussion of how he and Wolf had dressed up as Aurors for center time and had arrested Patrick, the other little boy in their class, who had dressed up as a pirate that stole sand.

"My, my, Zane, what a wonderful friend Wolf must be," Narcissa said, a gorgeous smile on her face. "You two sound like you have so much fun."

Zane agreed with her and was soon saddened to learn that it was time to leave. He gave his grandmother and grandfather a hug; Narcissa rolled her eyes when Lucius patted the boy on the head when Zane went to hug his long legs.

She whispered to Hermione, "He is so random in his displays of affection. It drives me near mad."

Hermione laughed quietly and gave the older woman a hug in farewell. She shook hands with Lucius and soon found herself walking the long dirt-path towards the Apparition point.

Zane walked ahead of them, stopping to pick up smooth rocks every few steps.

"That wasn't too bad," Draco said softly. "No duels took place and we left with all our limbs intact."

Hermione smiled. "Your mother is nothing like I thought she would be. I seriously wonder how you managed to be such an evil little snot during school with a sweet mother like that."

He stuffed his hands into his pockets again and looked ahead. "She was a strict mother when I was younger, but she was also nurturing. My childhood was an emulation of my father's behavior. I wanted to be just like him, wanted to impress him. My mother tried her best, but I never appreciated it."

She would never get used to the words that came of Draco Malfoy's mouth. _When the hell had he become so mature?_ It baffled her. "I'm sure she knows that you appreciate her now. She's a bright woman and she loves Zane very much. I have taken quite a liking to her."

"I'm glad you two got along. You'll have to excuse my father, though. The transition from pure evil to normalcy didn't suit him very well and he still struggles."

"The fact that you all try is a sign of great character and strength. I must tell you, I'm glad you decided to change your ways."

"So, how are your parents going to react to your sudden announcement?" Draco asked as they neared the Apparition point.

"Frankly, I have no clue. They have always supported my decisions and have always encouraged me to follow my desires. They will be shocked, but who wouldn't be?"

"That's true… I'm a bit anxious to see how your friends will react. No, scratch that, I'm damn near ready to piss myself in anticipation to see how Pothole and freckle-fart are going to react."

"Do you spend all of your free time thinking up horrid nicknames for my friends?" Hermione asked, her temper flaring.

"Heavens no, I come up with them while I'm on the crapper… we can call it inspiration," he replied.

She huffed in annoyance and ignored him the rest of the way to her parents' house. When she had to grab his arm for her to apparate them all to Kensington, she might or might not have pinched him… hard.

* * *

"We weren't expecting you, dear! But we're so glad you came," Annabel Granger exclaimed, ushering her daughter, the handsome man, and the little boy into their suburban home in Kensington.

Annabel was an older version of her daughter: soft, pretty, features, but minus the frizzy hair. Lucky woman.

"I'm sorry I haven't been visiting as often as I should, but I've been so busy with the school," Hermione replied. "I'd like to introduce you to Draco Malfoy and his son, Zane."

Annabel turned towards the two males with a kind smile. She shook their hands and welcomed them into her home.

"Your son is very cute," Annabel told Draco.

"I'm not cute! Cute is for girls!" Zane exclaimed, appalled by the woman's words.

Annabel burst into laughter. "I beg your forgiveness, Mr. Zane. I meant you are very handsome."

"Oh, thank you," he replied with a wide smile. "Are you my mummy's mummy?"

She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "No, I don't believe so, dear. Now, come on into the living room, all of you, my husband will be down shortly."

"Thank you for welcoming us into your home, Mrs. Granger," Draco said.

"Oh, think nothing of it, and please, call me Annabel," she smiled.

The three of them took seats in the quaint living room furnished much more modestly than the manor. Thomas Granger walked in then, smiling at the sight of his daughter.

"Hermione, you naughty girl, where have you been hiding?" he greeted her, hugging her close.

"I'm sorry, dad, but as I told mum, I've been so busy keeping up with the school," she said. Draco noticed the hint of regret in her eyes. She really did feel bad that she couldn't visit them more often.

She introduced Draco and Zane to him and he cordially greeted them.

"Daddy! Look, a kitty-cat!" Zane practically squealed as a fat, auburn cat walked into the room. Zane jumped off of the couch and slowly approached the cat. She sniffed him and allowed him to pet her.

"He really likes cats," Draco explained.

"Crookshanks doesn't get along with many people, but she seems taken with your son," Thomas observed. "Now, I don't mean to sound rude, but how exactly do you know my daughter?"

"We went to school together, dad," Hermione explained. "Zane is also in my class."

"Oh, that's nice," he said. "Are you two romantically involved?"

_Doesn't beat around the bush, this one…_

Draco managed to keep his laugh reigned in. Hermione stared at her parents, her bottom lip tucked firmly under her teeth.

"Yes, actually. I wanted him to meet you," she lied.

"How lovely," Annabel said with a smile aimed at the two of them. Her smile suddenly disappeared. She turned to look at the young boy petting the cat and talking to it about his best friend, Wolf. "Hermione, tell me Zane isn't your son."

Hermione shook her head. "No, mum, he's not my son. Would you really think I would have a child and not tell you?"

Annabel seemed to breathe for the first time. "Of course not, I was just curious."

"How long have you two been in a relationship?" Thomas asked.

"Quite a few weeks now," Draco said. "We met again when I enrolled Zane into Hermione's school and we began seeing a lot of each other."

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Draco. Hermione's never brought a boy home before," Annabel said.

Draco cleared his throat. Hermione turned to look at him. _Ok, here goes. He's going to tell him we're engaged. They're going to be disappointed and wonder why I hadn't even told them I was in a serious relationship with a man who had a child and then my mum might cry and her nose will get all red and runny… I should have thought this through more._

"I actually came here today to ask you for permission to marry your daughter," he said.

_Piñata of surprises? Try atom effing bomb of surprises._

"Oh, how wonderful!" Annabel cried. "Isn't that respectful of him, Thomas? Asking for our permission!"

Thomas nodded slowly. "Thank you for asking permission, Draco. If you don't mind, I would like to speak with my daughter in private before giving you my answer."

_Of course I mind, she's already said yes, sucker._

"I don't mind at all," Draco replied pleasantly.

Hermione followed her parents into the kitchen, passing Zane and Crookshanks who were crawling around the floor together with Zane making bird noises. At least, _he_ was having fun.

She turned to her parents once the doors were closed.

"We had no idea you were in a serious relationship," Thomas said. "And with a man who has a child?"

_Wasn't I just thinking this?_

There went the lower lip back to be gnawed by her teeth. "Do you not approve of him?"

"Well, we don't really know him not to approve of him," he said.

"Hermione loves him and that's all that matters," Annabel said quietly, going to the refrigerator to procure refreshments for their guests.

"Do you love him, Hermione? Is he good to you? I trust your judgment, darling and if you want to marry him, then I'll support you."

She ignored the horrible feeling telling her that she was lying to her parents and that they were soaking it all up. This _was_ a real marriage… it just wasn't going to last.

"I want to marry him," she said. At least _that_ wasn't a lie. She did want to marry him to help him out. As long as they didn't persist in their other questions, she wouldn't have to lie more than she should.

"Well, then I give you all my blessings and I hope you are happy," Thomas said quietly, kissing his daughter's cheek.

"Oh, darling girl, this is so wonderful. It doesn't matter one iota that he has a child because you'll be a wonderful step-mother," Annabel said, pouring iced drinks into cups.

"So, let's go tell him the good news," Hermione said, wanting to be finished with this whole charade.

* * *

"I give you my blessings, Draco. I'm glad you have come to us for permission and I'm glad you two have fallen in so much love that you're ready to take the next step," Thomas said, once they were back in the living room. "I do hope she accepts."

_There couldn't be more things wrong with that statement._

Hermione took the seat next to Draco and almost jumped when he reached over and held her hand. "I hope she accepts as well," he said, looking adoringly at her. She tried not to burst out laughing at how ridiculous he looked faking his smitten look. He winked at her and turned back to her parents.

Hermione suddenly felt a tension of worry claw at her insides. What if they had already seen the engagement ring on her ha… wait, where was it? She looked down at her hand to find the ring missing.

"Goodness, Hermione, end the suspense and tell him your answer!" Annabel said.

Hermione looked back at Draco to see an engagement ring, the engagement ring he had previously given her, in his hand.

"What do you say, my love? Marry me?" he asked. She could see he was also fighting to keep from laughing.

She nodded at him and he slipped the ring on her finger. Her parents were obviously expecting a kiss… _yeah freakin' right._

Her body instantly went into treacherous flames when his warm, no… hot lips kissed the back of her hand, right on the knuckle above her ring. He winked at her again and turned to her parents.

"Oh, dear, I couldn't be happier for you," Annabel said, tears stinging her eyes. "There is so much to do… I don't even know where to begin."

"Do you two have a date in mind?" Thomas asked.

"How about next Wednesday?" Hermione asked.

Her parents laughed and shook their heads. "You're delirious from how happy you are, dear."

_Yeah, that's exactly why I'm delirious. It has nothing to do with the fact that I'm about to marry the only man I've ever hated._

"Actually, that's not a bad idea, sweetums," Draco said, turning to her.

_SWEETUMS?! I'll sweetums you…_

"You agree?" Annabel asked, her face portraying mild shock.

"We've talked about it before and we've decided that if we were to ever marry, we would have a short engagement," he explained.

"A week isn't enough time, though. There are too many things to plan and you two can't really be serious about getting married next week…"

"Mum, it's a tradition in the wizarding world that couples have a very short engagement and then a small, private wedding…"

"Well, we'd like you to assimilate to the wizarding culture, dear. So, whatever you want will be fine with us, I mean, it is _your_ wedding," Thomas said.

Hermione smiled gratefully at them. "Thank you, I'm so glad you're not too upset."

"Upset? Goodness, no. We are thrilled for you, love," her mother said. "If we have a week to plan everything, don't you think we should get started? Oh, I would love to get to know you more, Draco, you and my soon-to-be step-grandson."

"I would love that opportunity," Draco said. "I'm afraid, though, that it can't be done today. Hermione and I have promised her friends that we would meet with them and we are so looking forward to it." _I know I am._

"Oh, of course! You must tell them all the good news! Yes, then, hurry off and please do come back very soon so that we can discuss wedding details and get to know our new family members better," Annabel said, her smile so very joyful.

They all said their goodbyes, with Zane finding out that he had a new set of grandparents. He was beyond ecstatic, trying to tell them his life story as he was literally dragged to the door.

"Bye, Gamma Anna and Gampa Tom!" he yelled, using the names they had asked him to call them. He, of course, also had a five-minute-long farewell with Crookshanks, whom he just called 'cat' as the name was hard to pronounce.

The minute they had left the house, Hermione looked up towards the sky and stared at it for a few seconds. Draco looked at her oddly. "What are you doing?"

"I'm wondering how many lightning bolts are going to strike us for lying our heads off back there," she said despondently. "I've never lied to my parents before."

"Never?" he asked with shock. "Everyone's lied to their parents. It's the rule of having parents. You've got to lie to them at least once."

"Well, I might have distorted the truth on occasion but I haven't told such huge lies to them before. God, did you see how happy they were?" she said, her shoulders sagging and her face turned towards the ground.

Draco didn't know what to do as he watched her berate herself for what had just happened. She looked so melancholy, so ashamed…

He did the only thing a sane, rational man would do (if 'sane, rational man' somehow translated into 'complete idiot' in some foreign language)… he stopped her on the middle of the sidewalk and hugged her.

"I'm sorry you had to lie to them, but I'm grateful that you did it for me. It means a lot and I'll make it up to you, I'll even let them blame me when we mysteriously divorce six months from now," he said, strangely enjoying how small she felt in his arms, how soft she seemed… how feminine…

_Yep, definitely need to get laid._

Hermione didn't know where to put her hands, so she settled them around his waist. "It's ok. I don't blame you, Draco. When this is over, can I at least tell them the truth? Just them, we don't have to tell anyone else."

Draco released her, instantly missing the warmth she provided. "Yes, you can tell them."

She smiled at him and tried hard not to show that she had enjoyed his hard, masculine body against hers. He was so surprisingly virile and strong. She had felt… _safe_… in his arms.

They continued their walk towards a deserted alleyway they used as an Apparition point. There was a horrible, awkward funk in the air. Something was changing. They were both becoming aware of something besides their hatred towards each other. There was something… a tiny attraction blossoming. Very tiny. Microscopic. But it was still there.

* * *

Standing outside the Burrow, Draco tried his hardest not to wrinkle his nose at the sight of it. He was used to luxury… manors, chateaus, penthouses… not houses that looked like the block creations Zane came up with.

"Don't start, Draco," Hermione warned him, her hand poised to knock on the door. "I can see your nose twitch in disapproval."

"Stop ogling me then," he retorted. Was that manure he smelled? He looked to his right and saw the source of the acrid smell… a garden with bags of manure. _Talk about a shit-hole._

"It smells like poopy," Zane eloquently observed.

"That's fertilizer, Zane. It helps plants grow," Hermione explained.

"Oh," he said quietly. "It smells like poopy."

Hermione elbowed Draco in the ribs when he snorted in laughter.

She finally found the courage to knock on the door and held her breath as they waited for entrance. Zane stood between them, his hand in Hermione's, curious as to where they were.

Molly Weasley opened the door and was about to draw Hermione into her arms in greeting when she realized Hermione was not alone. She turned her gaze to Draco and then back to Hermione, speechless.

She looked down and found an angelic face looking back up at her.

"Hermione, dear, we've been expecting you. Your letter left us all wondering what you could possibly want to tell us," she said cautiously, her eyes not leaving Draco's.

He was enjoying the staring contest with the plump red-head. He always won staring contests. Always.

"I'd like to introduce you to Draco Malfoy and his son, Zane," Hermione said, already wishing this was over.

Molly blinked and Draco smiled politely (he was actually smiling at his staring contest victory, but what she didn't know wouldn't hurt her). He extended his hand and was surprised that she gave him a firm handshake.

"Hello, Mr. Malfoy," she said shortly. She looked down at the boy, who was still staring up at her with wide eyes. "Hello, Zane."

"Hi," Zane said, before Draco had a chance to anything. "Your hair is pretty. It's orange."

"What a nice thing to say," she said, warming towards the young child. "Thank you."

"Wolf's mummy had yellow hair!" he told her. "My daddy says I have dirty-blond hair, but my hair is not dirty because I take a bath all the time at night."

Molly nodded with a small smile. She looked back up at Draco and then back at Hermione. "Please, come in. I'm guessing your news has to do with Mr. Malfoy and his son?"

"Yes, actually," Hermione said, clearing her throat.

The three of them followed Mrs. Weasley towards the living room that was filled with red-heads and other assorted non-red-heads.

"ZANE!" Wolf's voice shouted the instant they appeared in the doorway.

The two boys met in the middle of the living room and hugged and instantly began talking about everything that had ever existed in the universe.

"What the hell is _he_ doing here?" Ron's voice cut through the high-pitched babbling of the two little boys.

He was staring, glaring, and pulverizing Draco with a single gaze.

Wolf and Zane gasped at the naughty word used and began giggling.

Hermione sent Ron her own glare before turning to the boys. "Boys, why don't you two go play outside?"

They nodded at her and before they left, Hermione heard the words that would jump-start the impending fête.

"Miss Her-mi-one is my new mummy, Wolf!" Zane said as the two of them reached the door.

They didn't hear Wolf's response. They _did_ hear a horribly wonderful, tense silence envelop the entire room. Hermione and Draco stood in the doorway facing everyone.

_I wonder how long it will take to dig a hole, lie in it, and then die from mortification…_

Hermione bit her lip, by the end of the day, she'd be lucky if her lower lip was still there.

The entire Weasley family, minus Bill, Charlie, Percy and George (who was on his honeymoon) sat around the living room. Tonks and Remus were also there, sitting next to each other. On their other side, stood Harry.

Before the apocalypse could begin, the back door opened and Donny's sunny voice filled the room.

"God, so sorry I'm late!" she said, removing her cloak as she walked in. She froze at the sight of Hermione and Draco and the obvious hate emanating throughout the room.

"Mr. Malfoy! What on earth brings you here?" she asked. "You look fab in the suit, by the way."

"Thank you for the segue to our discussion," Hermione said, smiling at her co-worker. "I'm just going to come right out and say this, then."

"Why is that bastard still standing in my home?" Ron asked, his teeth gritted.

"Last time I checked, Ron, you lived in a flat near the Cannons' training camp," Hermione said. "Your mother invited us in and I do believe she has the authority to refuse admittance to anyone, should she choose to do so."

Draco stood straight, his posture rivaling ancient European royalty, radiating a confidence and pride unmatched by any human present.

"You're taking too long," he muttered to Hermione. He looked straight at everyone, meeting all of their gazes. "I have asked Hermione to marry me and she has accepted my proposal. I believe congratulations are in order."

Stunned silence and a shrill squeal met their ears. Donny barreled at Hermione at a dangerous rate. "You absolute wench! Why didn't you tell me you were dating him?!" she laughed, hugging her friend close. "You're going to marry him?! Good God, why have you been keeping this such a secret?"

"Why is he still here?" Ron asked, acting as if the announcement hadn't just happened.

Hermione untangled herself from Donny's grasp and took a deep breath. "Draco is right. We have been dating and we just left my parents' house where he asked for my hand in marriage."

"Wow, this is awkward," Fred said, leaning on the back of the couch, a goofy smile on his face. "How's the ferret in bed?"

"Fred!" Molly scolded, her cheeks near crimson.

Hermione felt a sudden surge of anger. This was clearly humiliating enough without all of their inane comments and questions. God only knew what possessed her to utter her next words.

"He's fabulous in bed, thank you for asking," she said coolly. "I'm sure he'd be happy to teach you a thing or two."

_Holy shit… she just defended my sex-skills. Wait… we haven't had sex. What just happened?_

Remus coughed into his fist, clearly hiding a laugh. You could take the man away from the Marauders, but you'd be hard-pressed to take the Marauder away from the man. "If you are happy with this union, Hermione, and as I care for you significantly, I am happy for you. I trust your judgment greatly and if you have judged Mr. Malfoy's character to such a positive point that you wish to marry him, then I do not see why anyone should object."

Hermione felt tears flood her eyes. She smiled at her old professor, a man who had been a mentor to her over the years. "Thank you, Remus. Your approval means a great deal to me."

"This is all so sudden," Mr. Weasley said quietly. "Are you really going to marry him? After all the negative things that have taken place between the two of you?"

"I've forgiven and forgotten," _kind of,_ "and if I can forget all those things, can I hope that you all will, too?"

"Yeah, bloody right," Ron muttered, still glaring at the tall, blond rogue.

"Have you two set a date?" Tonks asked, snatching her gaze from Harry, whose face was completely void of any emotion.

"Next Wednesday," Hermione said quietly.

"How on earth am I supposed to lose weight to fit in a skanky new dress by next Wednesday?" Donny asked, aghast. "You're really going to marry in less than a week?"

Hermione and Draco nodded.

"How could you do this to us, Hermione?" Harry's soft voice suddenly said.

She looked at him and saw the hurt in his startling green eyes. "Harry, I'm not doing this to anyone. I'm marrying Draco because I want to and I know this is sudden and I wasn't expecting anyone to be very happy… that's why I've kept it a secret for so long. I'd really like it if all of you came to my wedding."

"Don't save me a seat," Ron said. He got up and stalked out of the room, slamming whatever door he exited from.

Hermione looked down when she felt warm hands on hers. She realized she had been digging her nails into her palm and instantly unclenched her fist as Draco's touch relaxed her. She looked up at him and he smiled softly at her.

"Dear, if you're happy and if you love him, then I support you and I'd love to come to the wedding," Molly said. "I have never known you to make poor decisions. You're the brightest witch of our age, for heaven's sake!"

More agreements came from Tonks, Mr. Weasley and Fred. Donny was already writing down ideas into a notepad she carried around with her, muttering things like 'ivory,' and 'tulips' and 'bikini wax.'

Harry just shook his head and left the room.

Remus watched him walk away and turned to Hermione. "Hermione, you must give those two a bit of time. This has come as a great shock to them and please don't let them upset you. This should be a time for merriment as your wedding is coming up."

Hermione nodded and thanked him again. She thanked everyone and after answering a few questions from Tonks and Molly, and about a trillion questions from Donny, she told Draco it was time to leave.

He left her in the living room after telling her that he was going to go fetch the boys from outside.

He made a detour, though. He followed the path that Ron and Harry had taken and found them standing in the kitchen, talking in low tones.

They looked up when he entered and Ron withdrew his wand. Draco rolled his eyes and let the door close behind him. "Put your wand away, Weasley. Don't you think it's about time you grew up?"

"Don't you think it's about time you got the hell out of my house?"

"No, I don't believe so," Draco replied calmly. "I know you don't much care for my presence as I also despise looking at the two of you for prolonged periods of time, but I find it my duty to at least play nice. I am marrying Hermione whether the two of you approve or not. She is my fiancée and I want to extend a peace offering toward the people she claims are her best friends."

"Peace offering?" Harry asked slowly.

"Yes, I hereby apologize for any insults, fights, arguments, spells, hexes, etc. that were applied to you with a malicious intent by me."

"You're actually apologizing?" Ron asked, a dumbfounded look on his face.

"Yes, it's something mature people do," Draco said.

Ron narrowed his eyes at him.

"You? Mature?"

"I know, I'm shocked, too," Draco replied, looking at his nails in a bored manner. "Are you going to accept the apology or can I leave now?"

"I accept," Harry said, surprisingly. "I hate you, Malfoy. I don't think I could ever stop hating you. But, I trust Hermione and she's like family to me. If she loves you, then I'll be civil to you for her sake. If you so much as hurt her even the tiniest bit, I'll make her a widow without a single regret."

Draco bowed his head slightly. "Consider me warned." _And shaking in my fucking boots… pussy._

Ron mumbled something incoherent as Draco and Harry shook hands and assessed each other in the same way male animals compare tusks and horns and wieners (the human animals, of course).

"I'm going to take your unintelligible grunt as acceptance of my apology," Draco said to Ron.

Ron glared at him some more. It was turning into a pastime.

"I expect you two to be at the wedding," Draco said. "I counter your warning, Potter and please heed it. If either of you two hurt my fiancée with your petty attitudes, then you'll surely rue your actions."

He turned and left the two witless monkeys to whatever they did when they were alone.

"Oh, and don't tell Hermione about our little chat."

* * *

Carrying a sleeping Zane, who hadn't taken his afternoon nap, Draco waited for Hermione to unlock the door to her flat. She was visibly exhausted: emotionally and physically.

"Thank you for everything, today," he whispered.

She looked at him as the door opened and stood watching his face for a second. "You can stop thanking me, you know. I'm glad I can help."

"Well, the hard part is over. We've told almost everyone… it went a lot better than I had expected."

She nodded and smiled. "Yes, I expected tears and maybe a few hexes."

"Well, you're fortunate then, to have such understanding friends," he said. He shifted Zane in his arms. "My arm is falling asleep, so I'll get going now. See you tomorrow?"

She nodded and watched him walk down the hallway of her building. When she finally stepped inside her flat, she realized that she had tears in her eyes. From what? She had no damned idea.

Maybe it was the realization that she hadn't fought with him on a monumental level after having spent almost the entire day with him. Maybe it was the emotional strain of lying to the people she loved. Maybe it was because she was tired and had come to the conclusion that Draco Malfoy wasn't such a bad guy after all. In fact, he was a very nice one when he chose to be.

He had magicked the ring off of her finger before they had gotten to her parents' house. He had given them the illusion that he was asking for their permission, to get on their good sides and give them a chance of participation in the upcoming nuptials.

He had given her the smallest comforting gestures at the times when she felt ready to burst into tears in front of everyone. He had thanked her more times than was healthy and he had felt remorse for making her lie to everyone.

Damn him. He was ruining the safe hatred they had established between them so many years ago… he was making it harder and harder for her to loathe him. Now, it was down to a subtle contempt and dislike.

Hermione took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

_Just six more months and this will all be over…._

_Just six more months…_


	8. Hate to Love and Love to Hate Her

Disclaimer: All Harry Potter related characters, places and themes belong to J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury and Scholastic.

A/N: I've put up a picture of _**Donny**_ in my profile! Thank you all for the lovely reviews! The chapter title comes from the song, "The Sun" by Maroon 5.

* * *

**Chapter 8: Hate to Love and Love to Hate Her**

Donny watched as Wolf and Zane stood against the back wall of the classroom, their noses touching the wall and their hands behind their backs. They had been put into time-out for putting earthworms in Angie's hair.

"Now, are you boys ready to apologize?" Hermione asked, her arms across her chest in a very strict schoolmarm pose.

They nodded, their faces still turned to the wall.

"Go and tell Angie you are very sorry and then I want you two to sit out for center-time," she said.

Donny smiled as Hermione approached her after Wolf and Zane had gone to Angie and apologized in mumbles and grumbles.

"A bit harsh, don't you think? No center-time… that's the best part of the whole day!" Donny laughed, folding her legs beneath her.

"Those boys will be the death of me," Hermione sighed. "With Zane's intellect and Wolf's Marauder genes… well, I hope I make it to the end of the year."

Donny smiled and then turned very serious. "Ok, I can't avoid the subject any longer. Now, why on earth didn't you tell me you were dating the hottie? I thought we were friends."

Hermione shrugged and tried to pull off a sheepish smile. "It was just a spontaneous thing, us getting together. I guess we didn't want to jinx it." _Is the lying getting easier? I'm going to be reincarnated into hemorrhoid cream. No, I'm just going to hell… or whatever happens to evil witches when they die._

"But I seriously thought you two hated each other," Donny said, her dark eyebrows furrowed over her bright blue eyes.

"We do, I mean, we did," Hermione correctly amended. "But I, um, guess that added to the… passion."

Donny's eyes brightened considerably and she smiled like a Cheshire. "I bet! God, you two must be explosive together!"

_Oh, God… get the image out of my head! _Hermione smiled wanly, trying to keep her brain from being disloyal by not thinking of how hot a roll in the sack with Draco would be. _An explosive argument, definitely. Explosive sex? HA!_

"Please, tell me. I'm going through such a horrid dry spell. How is he?" Donny pleaded.

"He's fine. He's at work right now."

"No, Hermione. How is he in bed?"

Hermione felt her face warm in embarrassment and shock. "He's fine. He's at work right now," she repeated.

Donny laughed and sat forward in her chair, elbows on her folded knees. "Fine, fine. I won't pry. But, wow. I still can't believe it!"

"Neither can I," Hermione said truthfully.

"Have you picked out your dress, yet?"

"No," Hermione said slowly, watching Zane and Wolf sit at their desks, their hands folded innocently as they watched the other children at their centers.

"What in blazes are you waiting for? The wedding is on Saturday! Today is Monday. That's five days!"

"Yes, I know. How hard is it to pick out a wedding dress?"

"It's only one of the most important decisions of your life," Donny scoffed.

"I can think of an infinite number of other more important things. I'll go pick out something tomorrow. Do you want to help me?"

"Duh."

Hermione rubbed her hands across her eyes.

"Tired?" Donny asked, pulling out her wand to stop Wolf from creeping out of his chair. Zane gave him a 'good effort' shrug.

"Anxious mostly," Hermione said. "Worried about Harry and Ron. They haven't spoken to me since this weekend."

"They'll eventually come to terms with all of this. But I only say that because I didn't go to school with you. I don't think I've ever hated anyone before to understand how those two are feeling."

"You've never hated anyone before?" Hermione asked.

Donny thought for a moment. "Nope. I don't think so."

Hermione actually believed her. Donny was much too carefree and loving to ever go down to the base level of loathing. An evil idea struck her.

"Did you read the article in Quidditch Weekly about Oliver Wood's new girlfriend?" Hermione asked.

Donny's jaw immediately clenched. "What?" she asked in a lethal whisper.

"Oh, yeah. I was reading that he's been seen around Aberdeen with this Swedish supermodel he met at a game. Gorgeous girl, legs from here to Stockholm and the biggest chest I've ever seen."

"Who is she?" Donny asked, her teeth gritted and her blue eyes burning near navy.

"Annika something…" Hermione said, her lips tensing in the effort to not smile.

"I'll kill her," she said slowly. "Stupid whore, I hate her."

"Ah, so you _do_ have the ability to hate."

Donny quickly glanced at Hermione. "You set me up! God, Hermione, don't ever do that again! That was an awful, mean thing and I do _not_ forgive you."

Hermione held her side as she laughed quietly. "Oh, Don… I love you to pieces. I'm sorry."

"Not forgiven," Donny said, although her smile betrayed her.

"So, tell me," Hermione said, ignoring the playful glare aimed at her. "How are you going to end your dry spell? Let's think for a minute that maybe Oliver Wood won't sweep you off on his broom to elope in Gretna Green. Are you going to bring a date to the wedding?"

Donny bit her lip and sighed. "Am I that pathetic?"

"You're not pathetic, Donny. You're just a dreamer and I want to see you happy."

"I just wish I could meet him. Just once," she said and sighed again. "You're right, Hermione. I need to stop dreaming and get a real life. Know any single guys?"

Hermione smiled brightly and put her arm around her petite friend. "We'll find someone for you. Any guy would be lucky to have you."

Donny smiled and pulled out her wand again to ring the bell that would end center-time for the younger children and bring the older children inside from their recess.

Wolf and Zane ran up to the two teachers and gave them their best smiles. "We're sorry, mummy," Zane said, acting as diplomat. "We'll be good now."

Hermione smiled tightly and nodded for the boys to join their classmates for lunch.

"I love how he calls you that," Donny said dreamily. "But, you know… I still don't know anything about his real mum."

"Oh, she's ghastly. Horrid, wretched woman," Hermione said, surprised at how much she hated Pansy. She barely knew her, yet hated her for how she had treated her son and how she now wished to use him to rob his father blind.

Hermione began to explain to Donny about Pansy and the circumstances of the witch's marriage to Draco.

"Poor Draco. Imagine being married to someone you can't stand," Donny said.

Hermione didn't say anything, allowing the irony of Donny's statement to settle in the air around them. She didn't have to imagine being married to someone she couldn't stand. Despite the distilled hatred, she still didn't like Draco, and her head hurt thinking that in just a few short days, she would be married to him.

* * *

Draco looked up from the soapy water, draining slowly from the tub. Zane was standing with a large, white towel wrapped around his tiny frame several times. He shivered and blinked away the water dripping in his eyes.

Draco nearly jumped when a soft feminine voice sounded from behind him. "Come on, Zane, let's get you dried and dressed."

He watched his son walk away with his soon-to-be wife. She had brought Zane home from school and he had begged her to stay until bedtime. She couldn't resist the boy's wide eyes and pleading pout. _Weakling_, Draco had thought.

He wasn't used to the sound of a woman in the house. Pansy didn't count because her voice had had the cigarette-abused tone of a gutted boar.

He sighed and stood up from his kneeling position beside the tub, wiping up the floor using his wand.

Following the sound of giggles and Hermione's laugh, he found himself leaning against the doorway to Zane's room, watching as Hermione inched her fingers down Zane's chest and tickled him as she reached his stomach. Once Zane had straightened after laughing, she swiftly pulled down the pyjama top over his head.

"All done!" she announced, brushing the few unruly strands of damp hair from Zane's forehead.

Seeing how small Zane was, shorter than even a kneeling Hermione, Draco realized that his son was still so young, having _just_ finished his toddler years. As fast as he grew, it was moments like these that reminded Draco of the innocence and purity of his child.

"Daddy! Look, all done!" Zane said happily.

Hermione looked over her shoulder at Draco and stood up.

"Thank you," he said quietly to her.

She gave him a curious look and turned back to Zane. "I'm sorry, sweetheart, but I can't stay much longer. I'll see you bright and early at school?"

Zane nodded and jumped into his green bed, pouncing on Rosie the dinosaur with a growl and squeaky roar. "Goodnight mummy!"

She smiled and walked towards the door where Draco was standing. She motioned for him to follow her.

"I'll be right back to read you a story, Z," he told Zane who was whispering something in the dinosaur's ear.

He followed Hermione to the kitchen where she paced in front of the sink.

"You can't keep thanking me for doing things for Zane that a mother should do," she said, keeping her voice light and not at all accusatory. "Remember, this is a real marriage in every sense."

Draco shrugged and took a seat at the breakfast table. "We're not married yet."

"But we will be and Zane has to get used to it."

"It seems he already has," Draco said more sharply than he intended.

"What's your problem?" Hermione asked, pausing in her pacing to turn to him.

"Nothing. I don't have a problem."

"Are you feeling resentment towards me because Zane has developed affection for me?" she guessed.

Draco scowled at her. "Are you suggesting that I'm jealous of you?"

"Not jealous, just paternal. You have loved Zane for so long and so much that you obviously wouldn't just take it well that I come in and your son immediately comes to trust me."

"I'm taking it fine," he said through gritted teeth.

"Forget it," Hermione sighed. "Forget I mentioned anything. I need to head home and floo Donny."

"About what?" Draco asked.

"Where we're going to hold the wedding on such short notice."

"At the manor," he said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

She gave him an incredulous look. "Um, no."

"Why not? My parents have already offered and insisted that we hold it there."

She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "It's going to be uncomfortable for my guests to be at the manor…"

"It's going to be uncomfortable for them wherever we are!" Draco spat. "You're marrying _me_, remember?"

"Keep your voice down," she hissed.

"Don't tell me what to do," he hissed back.

_Goodness, grow the hell up!_

"We're not getting married at the manor."

"Yes, we are," Draco said. "I've already told your father."

"What?"

"I told your father that the wedding will be at the manor. Now, he doesn't have to pay for a short-notice location. I've just saved him money he didn't need to spend."

Hermione gaped at him.

"I know we didn't give your parents much time to settle a budget for the wedding, so I thought it best if we made it as easy as possible. I know you're a proud person and as it's custom for the bride's family to pay for the wedding, I asked my parents not to pay for it, as they had wanted to do in the first place. They thought that as you're doing us a favor that we should pay for everything, but since we want everyone to believe the lie, I'm going to allow your father to pay and when we divorce, I'll pay him back without him knowing."

"How do you do that?" she asked after a moment of staring at him.

"How do I do what?"

"Go from incredibly annoying to halfway decent in the blink of an eye," she specified.

He rolled his eyes. "I practice in the mirror before I go to sleep."

She frowned at him and shook her head. "Thank you, by the way, for thinking of my parents."

He stayed quiet and got up from the table. "Have you eaten?"

She shook her head and watched him walk back out to the hallway where the two bedrooms were located. He peeked into Zane's room and closed the door quietly.

"He fell asleep," he told her.

"Well, he did have a tiring day of driving me crazy," she smiled. "He and Wolf are a force to be reckoned with."

"He's a great son, taking up my job of driving you crazy while I'm not there," Draco smiled coyly.

Hermione laughed quietly and shook her head as she sat at the table. "Can you cook?"

"Depends on what you want to eat," he replied, sticking his head into the pantry. "I'm a gourmet toast and jam chef. Let's not forget my wicked frozen chips skills."

Hermione laughed again, unable to stop herself. "Good thing you're gaining a wife who can cook a decent meal. Poor Zane."

"Yeah, yeah, poor Zane. He loves my cooking," Draco said, giving up his culinary search and taking the seat across from her.

"He's four. The other day he and Wolf put cheese on their chocolate biscuits. They ate nearly five each," she said. "Their food preferences aren't very refined."

Draco grimaced and chuckled quietly. "You mean to tell me you've never had a choco-cheese biscuit? They're _tres magnifique!_"

She pretended to gag.

"When did you learn how to cook?" he asked.

"I read a few cookbooks and took a cooking class while I was saving up to open the school," she explained.

"Oh, that's right. I forgot that annoying tendency of yours where you memorize every word you read and perfect every skill known to man," Draco said with a bored look.

"I'll take that as a compliment," Hermione said with a triumphant smirk. "I can make us something right now. You can test out your future bride's cooking skills."

"Fine. Use whatever you want and don't worry about a mess, I can clean up later," he said, exiting the kitchen.

She watched him walk out, his legs nicely defined by his khakis. She shook her head quickly, taking out the image of his strong legs from her stupid, dirty, perverted mind. Weren't only men supposed to check out women?

She turned to the kitchen and set out to make dinner for two, promising to floo Donny after dinner.

* * *

"How is it?" Hermione asked, for some reason nervous of his answer.

"It's very good, thank you," Draco replied, taking another bite of the roast beef au jus. "I didn't even know I had a roast beef in the freezer."

"It was in the back. I had to use four spells to finally defrost it," she replied, taking a sip of the white wine Draco had found hidden in the pantry. "So, you really like it?"

He looked at her for a second and then nodded.

She expelled a breath she didn't know she was holding and fingered the rim of her wine-glass. "I have a question."

_There's a fuckin' surprise._

"Yes?"

"I noticed that you only have two bedrooms here. One for you and one for Zane," she said so quietly that he had to lean towards her to hear.

"Your point?"

"Where am I going to sleep?"

Draco dropped his fork to the table and rubbed his face with his hands. "To tell you the truth, I haven't even thought of that."

"I was thinking…" she started to say, her nails on one hand drumming the surface of the table. "Well, the DMPs will be checking the house and everything and of course they'll look in your bedroom, so I thought that we could have two separate beds in there, because, obviously, I can't sleep with Zane and then when the DMPs come around, we can fuse the two beds together using a sticking spell I learned. That way, it'll look like we sleep together… I mean, sleep in the same bed" she quickly corrected, turning as pink as her nails.,

Draco watched her fingers tap on the table, the hypnotizing sound and movement throwing him off. "Ok."

"That is, if you don't mind. I know you might want some privacy… I don't take up a lot of room…"

"No, it's a good plan. I have two dressers and I can empty one out for you. My closet is big enough to move my clothes over and have room for yours. The bathroom was built for two people… it'll be fine."

"Ok," she said, expelling another pent-up breath. "That was easy."

He gave her a half-smile and poked at his food, his appetite gone. They stayed silent for a moment, neither of them really having much to say to the other.

"Are you having any qualms or maybe doubts?" she asked after a few minutes had passed.

Draco looked up at her and shook his head slowly. "No, are you?"

She shook her head. "I should go, though. I still have a lot to do and Donny will probably have an apoplexy if I don't floo her soon."

He nodded and stood up to lead her out, helping her with her cloak, the way a gentleman should. She gave him a small smile before she walked out of the door, leaving behind the awkwardness that had seemed to envelop them from all sides.

It was strange… they were both trying really hard to be well-mannered with each other. They had several years of loathing in their past that was making the transition exceedingly difficult. Any wrong word or gesture could turn into an argument, no matter how civil they tried to be. The whole marriage situation between them was so unlikely and improbable, that they wondered how anyone believed them.

_Gullible idiots…_

* * *

Hermione stood by the window of the guest room at the Malfoy manor, concentrating on inhaling and exhaling and not hyperventilating at the sight of the gardens of the manor decked out in ivory, eggshell, cream, seashell, alabaster, pearl and arctic white.

Draco stood on the balcony of his childhood room… suite… and looked to the garden directly to his left. It looked like a blizzard had run through and spared nothing. Everything was white. Donny might have told him something in passing about the varying shades that were definitely not white… but hell, it was _all_ fucking white. _Eggshell-white, my ass._

His attention was drawn to the window on the opposite wing of the house. He saw a figure hidden behind the lace shades… a feminine figure… cripes; it was Hermione, with the tempting body she hid beneath robes and teacher-couture.

He couldn't see very clearly from his position, but the silhouette of her slim waist and healthy hips couldn't be mistaken. She had the figure of a woman born to attract virile men; the evolutionary attraction that kept the human race going.

She retreated farther into the room, eliminating Draco's view. He looked back out to the grounds and felt his fingers grip the concrete balustrade harder. He was 'getting married' in an hour and his head hurt.

The door slamming behind him didn't help matters.

Blaise, dressed in his finest dress-robes, looked half-bemused, half-confused, and half-amused. "Thanks for the warning in advance, you great twit."

"Warning?" Draco asked slowly, folding his arms over his chest as he watched his friend walk into the room.

"You're marrying Granger?" Blaise asked. "Your invitation had me wondering if you were playing some enormous prank on me. When your mother owled me this morning, inquiring as to my attendance, well… I had to come see it to believe it."

Draco rubbed the back of his neck. "My apologies on forgetting to tell you about it. It was a spontaneous thing."

"Spontaneous? You think this is spontaneous? Farts and quickies are spontaneous… marriage is so far from being spontaneous that it's whatever the antonym of spontaneous is!"

Draco shrugged and stayed quiet.

"You're not marrying her because of the custody battle, are you?" Blaise asked, rubbing the goatee on his chin.

"No, of course not," Draco replied, acting as affronted as he possibly could.

"You really love her?"

"Yes."

"How long have you two been an item?"

"Several weeks now."

"When you came to talk to me about Zane's custody case, you told me you weren't seeing anybody."

"It was a bit difficult to admit to you that I was seeing her. We wanted to keep it a secret," Draco replied.

Blaise nodded unhurriedly. "I can't believe it… the mudblood?"

"I'd appreciate it, Zabini, if you refrained from calling my bride that intolerable word. I stopped using it ages ago and I think you should as well. You're Zane's godfather and he doesn't need that influence."

"Fine, don't get your thong in a twist," Blaise said, putting his hands up in defense. "I just can't understand how you ended up with her. If I remember correctly, you hated her with a passion unmatched back in school."

"Things change."

"Yeah, they do," Blaise laughed. "I'm surprised your father isn't lying in the fetal position, clutching his Voldemort doll and wishing away all the Weasleys that are currently in his gardens."

Draco smiled slightly and couldn't help but laugh. "They're Hermione's friends and family. We must get along with them."

"We? Hell no, Draco. _You_ must get along with them. I'll just walk around and try not to stand too close to any of them. According to reliable sources, I heard their house smells like poopy."

"I see you've spoken with Zane," Draco said, walking to the mirror and adjusting the light grey tie around his neck. He looked like a candle-stick holder in the grey dress-robes and with his shocking white-blond hair uncharacteristically falling into his eyes, he looked like the candle as well.

"Does Zane like her?" Blaise asked, picking up an old Quidditch magazine from the bedside table near Draco's childhood bed.

"I think he likes her more than I do."

_Ain't that the goddamn truth…_

"That's good, mate. He deserves a mother who knows which end the diaper goes on. Remember the time you left Zane with Pansy for thirty minutes and we came back to find his head covered in baby powder, his diaper flung halfway across the room, and Pansy crying as she held him an arm's length away from her."

"He was nine months old, right?" Draco sighed, smiling at the memory.

"I think so, yeah. God, I've never laughed so hard in my life. I don't think I'll ever forget that image."

"What image?" Donny asked from the doorway, looking remarkably like a tiny fairy in her light pink and cerulean dress.

"Nothing, Donny," Draco said, turning away from the mirror.

He introduced his Blaise to his soon-to-be crazy-friend-in-law. "Are you here to fetch the groom?"

"Yes," Donny nodded excitedly. "Everything is ready and oh, God, Hermione looks absolutely super, fabulous, bravura, fantastic! Ah! I cried for a good ten minutes once she had gotten into her dress. And you look so handsome, Draco. The color matches your eyes and I saw Zane and Wolf running around here in their little black tuxedo-robes, scratching and trying to unknot the ties. AH! I'm so happy!"

"Are you finished?" Draco asked, blinking rapidly at the amount of giddiness attacking him.

"Don't be mean," Donny said, sticking her tongue out at him. "I'm delaying you, but seriously, hurry your pureblooded butt up and get down to the gardens. The Ministry official is already here and has all the papers and Oh! Goodness, you never told me your dad was such a babe, Draco… I mean, he gave me this look that was so spiteful and cold, but hot damn, he looks a sight in those dark green robes… and your mother? Good God, was she a supermodel? No, _is_ she a supermodel? I'd absolutely kill for her body and that hair?! It's so…"

"Ok, thanks, Donny. I'll see you downstairs," Draco said, physically pushing the babbling teacher out of the room.

He turned to Blaise, who was holding his sides in silent laughter. "She'll be my son's teacher in a few years. I can't wait," Draco said dryly.

"If those two had a conversation, it would go on for years," Blaise said, swiping at his dark eyes. "Goodness, this is going to be a fun wedding."

"Yeah, tons and oodles of fun," Draco replied. "Let's get this over with."

Blaise didn't miss Draco's exhausted tone.

"Second thoughts?"

Draco's eyes widened. "No, no, not at all… I just want this all done with so that I can… uh, get to the wedding night faster."

Blaise smirked. "So is the bookworm a timid doe in the bed? Or a firecracker?"

_Timid doe? Blaise, you're a fucking idiot._

"She's wonderful, now let's go," Draco hurriedly said.

The two of them walked through the massive corridor down to the foyer, with Draco trying to ignore the annoying metaphors Blaise kept coming up with. Once outside, Draco was attacked by a tiny blur of black, clinging to his legs.

"Daddy! My clothes are itchy!" Zane said happily. "But Gamma says I look handsome just like you and that today is a very special day. Did you see mummy?"

Draco shook his head and picked up his son.

"She looks so beautiful and Miss Donny is also so beautiful in her pretty dress and Gamma looks beautiful and Wolf and me look handsome and you look handsome, Daddy, and Unca Blaise looks handsome and Miss Donny said Gampa is a babe. Does that mean he is a baby?"

Blaise laughed and held out his arms for Zane to jump into.

Draco thanked his friend for distracting his son and walked towards the long front-table, where his and Hermione's parents sat. The Ministry official stood in the middle, one seat on either side of him empty, for Draco and Hermione.

He passed by his parents' acquaintances, a bunch of redheads, other people he didn't care to look at and finally he reached the front-table. He shook hands with the Ministry representative who would oversee the signing of their marriage certificate.

He took the empty seat to the left of the representative and gave his mother a small smile. She patted his hand and then turned to Annabel Granger on her other side to whisper something in her ear. It seemed they were getting along fine.

Lucius, on the other hand… it looked like he was in pain. Draco had to give him credit, though. He was conversing with Thomas Granger, and not even condescendingly. It was a major breakthrough.

"She's a vision… I swear it," Narcissa breathed, looking off towards the manor.

Draco looked in the direction that she was staring and had to stop himself from dropping his jaw and blinking like an epileptic sufferer.

Who knew that the simplest white dress could look so magnificent on a girl he had thought to be so plain? She wasn't smiling, but she wasn't frowning. She was ethereal and proud, remembering at the last second to smile at her friends and various family members scattered throughout the garden as they complimented her and wished her happiness.

She stopped in front of Harry and Ron, who she hadn't expected to be there. Draco could see the confused happiness on her face. She was one hell of an actress…

She hugged them and talked to them quietly, her bright-red lips moving slowly and curving into a thankful smile.

She looked up at him then and pursed her lips in a soft air-kiss.

_Oh, that's right… we're in love._

He smiled back at her and was surprised to find that his cheeks weren't hurting the way they did when he usually gave her one of his mastered faux-smiles.

He watched as she knelt down beside Wolf and Zane and listened intently as they described how itchy their tux-robes were. Zane gave her a hug and she kissed his cheek, leaving red lip-marks on his cheek. Wolf received a similar make-up tattoo on his cheek.

And finally… she was standing next to Draco, looking as if she wasn't about to commit a huge farce in front of everyone that was important to her. She looked happy. She looked like she had accepted the inevitable. She looked bloody gorgeous.

Draco wouldn't have been able to describe her dress if he tried, but he knew that it looked amazing on her. It hugged her waist, hugged her hips, hugged her chest and flowed to the ground in soft pleats. Two lace straps wrapped around her shoulders to create a support and Draco's mind did an awful thing by trying to figure out how long it would take to remove the dress so that he could…

_Bad brain! Stop that!_

She took the seat he had pulled out for her and looked lovingly at him. He picked up her hand and kissed the back of it, giving the crowd the show they had come to see.

* * *

Hermione had that damned reaction where her hand seemed to tingle after his stupid lips pressed themselves to her skin. She gave him a smile and watched him take a seat on her other side, the Ministry representative standing between them. Her father sat on her other side and he leaned over to give her an encouraging hug.

Draco still hadn't said anything to her. She hoped she didn't look terrible in the dress Donny had cried over. She had to admit though, she felt very nice in the dress and matching veil that rested in her tamed curls.

Why was Draco looking at her as if she was a difficult homework problem he didn't know how to solve? Why did he look hungry? Did he not eat breakfast?

The representative gathered everyone's attention and he was soon waxing poetic over the virtues and splendor of the sacred union of matrimony. He said a bunch of things that Hermione tuned out, her eyes drifting to the built figure of her future husband in his flattering, grey dress robes. His eyes stood out, bright and studious, looking out at the guests and occasionally looking back at her.

"These two come together with the utmost love and respect. Combining their adoration into a union of wedded bliss of which we all strive for…"

Hermione was hearing what the representative was saying, but she wasn't exactly listening. Her stomach was doing strange things and her fingers felt cold… and shaky.

Draco reached under the table and placed his warm hand on top of hers. She looked at him for a moment and wondered where he stashed his bastard altar-ego and why he was being so compassionate.

_Oh, that's right... we're in love_.

"If there is anyone present who has any such aversion to this couple's marriage, who has just and reasonable evidence against their union, may he speak now or forever bite his tongue…."

Draco and Hermione looked at each other and then back at the guests. It would take only one idiot to put a stop to the whole process.

They held their breaths as the representative waited the required fifteen seconds.

Fifteen seconds of agonizing patience...


	9. Further In and on We Go

Disclaimer: All Harry Potter related characters, places and themes belong to J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury and Scholastic.

A/N: The chapter title comes from the song, "Rangers" by A Fine Frenzy. Again, thank you so much for the reviews!

* * *

**Chapter 9: Further In and on We Go**

Silence was the only answer to the Ministry representative's inquiry.

"Very well, very well," the older gentleman said joyfully. He pulled out his wand and procured the golden marriage certificate set in a scroll. He set it in front of Hermione and Draco.

"Draco Malfoy, if you are of sound mind, please, in front of all these witnesses, sign your name on the first line."

_Sound mind? Nope… sorry, buddy. I've been certifiably out of my mind since that first sip of Firewhiskey at Blaise's nineteenth birthday party._

Draco signed his name with the peacock feather his mother had insisted they use. It was extravagant and gaudy and perfectly Narcissa.

"Very well, very well," the representative said once Draco was through. "Hermione Granger, if you are of sound mind, please, in front of all these witnesses, sign your name on the second line."

Hermione took the peacock feather from Draco and signed her name under his, hiding her startled reaction when the paper glowed and disappeared once she finished.

"Very well!" the representative boomed.

Draco closed his eyes to keep what minimal sanity he had left. _If the fucker says 'very well' one more time, I'm going to stab him in the eye with the peacock feather._

"I am honored to be the first to announce Mr. and Mrs. Draco Malfoy as husband and wife. Please, Mr. Malfoy, do kiss your new bride."

_Damn… I was hoping he'd forget._

Hermione and Draco… and half of the guests… turned to the sound of giggles coming from the front row. Zane and Wolf were laughing into their hands, unaware that they were disrupting the ceremony.

"They're going to kiss… ewww!" Wolf told Zane.

"That's yucky!" Zane reassured his friend. "My daddy would not do something that yucky."

"Zane Malfoy," Lucius's slow, baritone drawl sounded from the front table. Zane looked up at his grandfather and immediately wiped the smile off of his face. Wolf, a smart lad, did the same. "Are you quite through with your silliness?"

Zane and Wolf nodded, wide-eyed.

Lucius nodded once and then gestured for the representative to continue.

"Daddy, don't kiss mummy… it's yucky!" Zane screamed, making his concerns clear to everyone.

Hermione's cheeks felt tremendously warm, and she knew they must have been burning bright red for the world to see. Draco seemed ready to say something, as his cheeks were powder pink. If Hermione wasn't mortified beyond belief, she would have thought he looked quite endearing.

Donny, sitting next to the boys, leaned close to them. "Mummies and daddies kiss all the time, Zane. It's what they do. When you get married, _you're_ going to kiss your wife."

Zane looked horrified, as did Wolf. "I'm never going to kiss a girl. That's gross!"

Donny rolled her eyes. "Trust me; you'll change your mind. Now, please stay quiet so that you don't embarrass your parents any further. I am not to hear a peep from either of you. Is that clear?"

Zane and Wolf pouted and scratched at their clothes before nodding solemnly.

The Ministry representative laughed jovially. "Very well…"

Draco gripped the peacock feather in his hand, accidentally snapping it in two.

"Now that the young ones have expressed their dire grievances against the wonderful show of affection, let us proceed. Where was I? Oh, yes. Please, Mr. Malfoy, kiss your new bride."

_You should have protested harder, Zane…_

Hermione turned to her 'dearly beloved' and gave him a pale smile. She didn't know what happened, but one second she was preparing herself for what was going to be the most forced action she had ever displayed… and the next second, Draco's lips were on hers.

_Quick and simple. Good thinking, Draco. I wish I had thought of it. Wait, this is not quick… his lips are still on mine. And they're warm… and soft… and oh, now they're gone._

Hermione blinked quickly and settled her gaze on Draco who had turned away from her, standing up quickly. She realized their guests were applauding and stood up, too.

She felt disoriented, reeling from the brief, surprising kiss. Her lips felt itchy… she now understood how the boys felt in their tuxedos. Her skin burned from his touch and she had to resist the urge to press her fingers to her mouth.

Smiling faces and cheers of congratulations followed them as Draco maneuvered them through the guests back into the manor. The reception of the wedding would be held in the regal, east-wing ballroom.

"Why… why are you walking so fast?" Hermione panted as Draco dragged her through the empty halls of the manor, the guests slowly making their way in.

He suddenly stopped and she ran into the hard form of his body. "You idiot, warn me next time you stop," she said, rubbing her nose which had come into violent contact with his shoulder blade.

"I forget your legs aren't as long as mine," he said calmly.

"How can you forget? I stand a head shorter than you," she grimaced, noticing that he was still holding her hand.

He smiled sheepishly and rubbed at his hair. "I'm sorry; I had to get out of that garden… all the white and the flowers and all the people looking at us. It was incredibly awkward."

Hermione stared at him, wondering why the pink hadn't receded from his cheeks. "It _was_ a bit awkward. Zane's worry lifted the spirits a bit, though. It's ok, now; you don't have to go through that _yucky_ experience ever again."

Draco looked at her and smiled as she teased him, wondering how she could be so confident and not a shaking pile of nerves. His heart still hadn't slowed down…. from running, of course, not from the soft, short kiss she had given back slowly… well, that's what he was telling himself at least."

"Thanks for remembering not to recoil in disgust," he said, one corner of his lips up in a half-smile.

She laughed and suddenly took her hand from his, ignoring the loss of heat. "What are we waiting for?"

"All the guests must enter the ballroom and then we enter when the representative announces us. It's lame and it's unnecessary, but it's how they do it."

She took a breath and grabbed his hand back, lacing her fingers through his. He looked at her and then down at their linked hands. "Newlyweds, right. Can't keep our hands off each other…"

She stifled a laugh and nodded. "Are you up for it?"

"I'm just pretending I'm an actor… 'All the world's a stage…'"

"'And all the men and women merely players'," Hermione finished for him, her smile finding it difficult to leave her face. "Except, it's just you and me as the players."

"Right," he nodded.

Two pattering sets of footsteps resounded from behind them in the massive hallway. Zane and Wolf ran up to them and each took a pair of legs to hug.

"Why did you kiss?!" Zane asked, sickened beyond his limited four-year-old vernacular. "It was a 'isgusting!" he said, tripping over his words.

"Yeah, Unca Draco! It was yucky!" Wolf agreed.

"Because when you're in love, you kiss," Hermione explained. "You have to wait until you're a grown-up to kiss."

Wolf and Zane exchanged disgruntled glances. "Can we have cake?"

The randomness and velocity of their conversation changes were normal enough that Draco and Hermione sighed with relief that the kissing discussion was over.

"I told you not to go into the ballroom this morning," Draco accused, knowing the boys had seen the massive white cake.

They looked to the ground, guilty looks on their faces.

Hermione sensed something was amiss. "Did you two already have some cake?"

"No!" they quickly defended, giving away any hope they had for convincing Hermione and Draco of their innocence.

"You know what the punishment is for lying, Z," Draco said, his eyes narrowing in half-amusement, half-exasperation.

As usual, Zane unconsciously grabbed the seat of his itchy pants and quickly looked at Wolf, telling him in silent tones that the jig was up. A spanking was so not worth it.

"Only a little bit, daddy. It was so yummy!" he said hopefully.

Hermione and Draco looked at each other at the sound of Narcissa's voice coming from the ballroom. "Zane Malfoy and Wolf Lupin, you get yourselves into this room right this second!"

Wolf and Zane looked up at the adults with worried glances. Gamma was pissed.

* * *

"I've never seen two people more in love," Narcissa said, sighing dreamily as she spoke with two ladies she knew were married to Ministry workers. She had set out a plan to really help out her son: spreading the word and having fun while at it. She didn't get many chances to act.

Mrs. Cartwright looked over at the newlyweds sitting near each other at the head table of the ballroom, sitting close to each other, Draco whispering something into Hermione's ear, his arm around her shoulders.

"Young love," she sighed. "I do congratulate you, Narcissa. Your son has married a beautiful woman and she looks like she makes him so happy."

_Oh, you simple woman…_

"Yes, I am so delighted at the prospect of having Hermione finally join our family. She's a great mother to my grandson and she makes my son happier than he's ever been."

_Ease it back a bit. You don't want to overdo it._

"Look at them whispering sweet nothings to each other like fresh spring lovers. She's actually blushing. A blushing bride! How lovely," Mrs. Sampson, the other lady, said.

Narcissa quirked an eyebrow, wondering what on earth those two were talking about.

* * *

"Good guess, but Austin is the capital of Texas. Not Houston," Hermione whispered back, trying to ignore the goose bumps that tried to erupt on her body from Draco's proximity and the heat coming from his arm around her shoulders.

"But Houston is the largest city…"

"True, but the capital is still Austin," she replied. "Now, it's your turn and give me a challenging one this time."

"Ok. Tell me, what is the atomic number of Radium?" Draco asked. He hoped she didn't catch the huskiness in his voice. But, damn it all, she smelled so sweet. Sweet and fresh, floral… and her skin was soft. So damn soft. Damn. Damn. Triple damn.

"Oh, good one," she said, furrowing her brows and trying to picture the Periodic Table of the Elements. "It's either 88 or 89… um, ok, I'm going with 88."

"Damn, that's right," Draco mumbled. "Ok, your turn."

Hermione thought for a second. "Name four classical Baroque musicians."

Draco smiled. "You're not even trying anymore, but I'll answer you regardless. There's Corelli, Purcell, Vivaldi, and Telemann."

"I thought I'd trip you up on that one," she sighed. "Your turn."

"Name a position from the Kama Sutra," he said, his lips lifted in a smirk.

"Draco!" she whispered harshly. "God, this is 'boring facts and trivia', not 'pervert particulars'."

She could feel her cheeks burn against Draco's traveling fingers.

_Why, oh why is he acting at this newlywed thing so well! I hate his caresses! I love them! NO! I hate them!!_

"You're blushing," he laughed quietly. "This is fun."

"You're a stupid git," she mumbled. "A wanker of massive proportions."

"And you're uptight and prudish," he responded in her ear, causing her to suppress a shiver she didn't want him to know he elicited.

"I am _not_," she whispered back, forcing her lips not to form a scowl. People were watching.

"Then answer the question," he shrugged; his whispers still warm against her neck and ear. "Unless… you don't _know_ the answer, thus giving me the win."

She sighed angrily, the forced smile making her cheeks and lips twitch. "Fine. The Pair of Tongs."

Draco burst out laughing and ignored the elbow in the ribs delivered by his new bride. "Ok, ok. You get two points for that one. Great answer."

"Glad you have had your laugh, now we're tied," she said. "Lightning round."

"What on earth are you two still doing sitting here?" Annabel Granger said from behind them. "It's your wedding and you must go out there and dance!"

Hermione and Draco leaned away from each other and looked out towards the mahogany dance-floor where a few people stood socializing, dancing and having a much better time than the newlyweds.

"It's ok, mum," Hermione said, waving her hand in a casual manner. "We enjoy watching."

"How can you not dance at your own wedding?"

"Easy; we just sit here and not dance," Draco said, getting a scathing look from his mother-in-law.

"Darling, I believe it imperative that you dance at least the couple's first dance," Narcissa said, coming up to them with a look that said they had no choice.

Draco and Hermione internally groaned, knowing that it would help keep up the pretense of a love-filled marriage if they danced the traditional couple's first slow dance.

"Now, hurry along and I'll alert the string orchestra to play a song. Any requests?" Narcissa smiled softly, knowing that the newly-wedded couple was sending her evil curses in their minds.

"Whatever you'd like is fine, Narcissa," Hermione said.

Draco held out his hand for Hermione as they made their way to the dance floor, all eyes on them.

Zane sat in his grandfather's lap, Wolf sitting in the chair next to them and eyeing Lucius's cane with the concealed excitement of a child aching to play with the shiny stick.

"Are they going to kiss again, Gampa?" Zane asked.

"Yes," Lucius replied, knowing Narcissa would cause him bodily harm if he ruined the illusion of Hermione and Draco's marriage. "They're married now, Zane. When people are married, they kiss."

"You and Gamma don't kiss," Zane replied.

_How dare he question my amorous prowess..._

"Yes we do," Lucius replied.

"No, you don't," Zane shook his head.

"Yes, we do."

"Nuh uh."

"Yes, we do."

"Nuh uh!" he insisted.

"Zane, we kiss all the time. You just don't see us," Lucius countered, wondering how he got sucked into the argument. "Now, stay quiet because your parents are going to start their dance."

"Dance? Why are they going to dance?"

Lucius sighed and signaled for one of the servers to bring him a strong drink. "Because that's what people do at weddings."

"Can Wolf and me dance?"

"Not together," Lucius quickly answered.

"Why not?"

_Stop with the bloody questions!_

"Because boys should not dance together."

"Why?"

_Count to ten, Lucius. Count to ten… steady now. You love him, remember?_

"Because in most cultures, only girls and boys dance together."

"Oh," Zane replied, his brows furrowed in concentration. He had no idea what culture meant… but he had a feeling he had reached his question quota with his grandfather. "Are you mad at me, Gampa?"

The ice that usually surrounded Lucius's exterior seemed to melt away when he looked down at his grandson, the one child he would move heaven and earth for. "No, Zane. I'm not mad at you."

"Can Wolf and me dance not together, when they play the fun music again?"

"Yes. Why don't you ask Gamma if she wants to dance with you?"

Zane's face lit up and he jumped out of his grandfather's lap just as the song for Hermione and Draco started.

* * *

"If you put your hand any lower, I'm going to knee you in the groin," Hermione hissed, waiting for the music to start as they assumed their position.

Draco tried to hide his devious smile, but it shined through. He obediently raised his hand higher up on her waist and squeezed her hand, which he was holding. "Newlyweds, remember."

"I'll make myself a widow if you don't behave," she said, staring up at him through narrowed eyes. "God, I wish everyone wasn't looking at us. I feel incredibly uncomfortable."

"Tell me about it," he muttered. "When is the stupid music going to start?"

As if on cue, the first chord of the music began.

Hermione smiled softly as she recognized the piece and at the ease at which Draco floated around with her on the smooth dance-floor.

"Why are you smiling?" he whispered, leaning his head down.

"Beethoven's_ Moonlight Sonata_. It's my favorite," she said. "Your mother is very intuitive."

"Oh," he nodded.

"What song did you and Pansy dance to?" she asked, curiosity coursing through her.

"We didn't," he replied. "She was just at the end of her morning sickness when we got married… so, she spent most of the wedding making friends with the loo, cursing me and my potent sperm."

Hermione laughed quietly, leaning her head against his shoulder, surprised that she felt so comfortable. _I'm just playing the part of a happy bride. That's all._

Draco stiffened when he caught a whiff of the subtle gardenia and jasmine scent wafting from her hair, so close to his face. If the song lasted any longer, he was going to have to move away from her and find a bucket of ice water to dump on himself.

_Ok, Draco, think non-arousing thoughts: fractals and differentiation; Pansy bitching at me; walking in on my parents doing the nasty at the tender age of seven; the time Zane threw up on me; Professor McGonagall in a bikini… ah, that did it. I'm good to go._

The dance ended minutes later and Hermione hadn't even noticed that she had been lost in her thoughts, her feet moving on their own accord, in perfect step with her partner. The soft applause from their guests and the rowdy cheers from Wolf and Zane concluded their round on the dance-floor.

Draco stepped back and bowed over her hand, kissing her knuckles softly.

The guests were eating it up.

Hermione, on the other hand, well, she suddenly realized that she wished this was all real. Not that she wanted to marry Draco Malfoy… good God, no. But, she had never really been in a committed relationship, one where someone loved her as much as she loved them.

Once the six months were over, she was going to finally get on track and find the perfect man for her. It was time for Hermione Granger… er… Hermione Malfoy née Granger, to find the man of her dreams and settle down!

She could last six months without killing herself or her new husband, right?

* * *

Draco tried not to curse as he saw the duo of dimwits, Potter and Weasley, approach the table he and Hermione were sitting at. They were scowling at him, naturally, and didn't even bother to put on a fake smile until Hermione had looked up at them.

Just to taunt them, a favorite habit of Draco's, he put his arm around Hermione and kissed her cheek, lingering there for a second, before turning back to Harry and Ron. "Come to wish us congratulations?"

Through gritted teeth, Ron spoke. "Congratulations, Hermione."

Hermione smiled lightly. "Thank you, Ron. I'm really, really happy you decided to come today. I know you don't much like the choice I've made, but the fact that you showed up really means a lot to me."

Ron's scowl softened and he gave her a small smile. "You look beautiful today, by the way. Mum and Tonks can't get over it."

"Of course she looks beautiful," Draco said, having fun with the distraught looks they were giving him. "But, then again, I'm biased and think she looks beautiful every single day."

Hermione had to stifle a laugh and subtly pushed the heel of her foot down onto Draco's, warning him not to go overboard.

Harry and Ron frowned and looked as if the cake they had eaten was threatening to make a comeback. "Well, we're happy that you're happy, Hermione," Harry said, ignoring the goo-goo eyes that Draco was making at her.

"Thank you, Harry. I really don't want this to affect our friendship. You and Ron are my best friends and I could never live with myself if the two of you were upset with me," she said, truly meaning it.

"We're not mad, Hermione," Ron sighed. "But did you really have to marry _him_?"

"I'm right here," Draco replied with a glower. "At least wait until I'm gone before talking about me."

"Oh, did I hurt your feelings?" Ron asked, rolling his eyes.

"Please, don't start," Hermione warned. "You can fight all you want later on, but right now there are other people around. Speaking of which, Remus and the twins look like they're coming to give us their best wishes."

The four of them turned to see the aforementioned men walking towards them. George had made it back to England from his honeymoon just in time for the wedding.

"Congratulations!" they said simultaneously, each leaning down to give Hermione a kiss on the cheek and to shake hands with Draco.

"This is a beautiful wedding," Remus said.

"Thank you, Remus. I'm glad you made it," Hermione said, repeating the same line she had said to at least one hundred other people. "I know Wolf is enjoying himself."

"Yes, I believe I saw him running around with Zane trying to get an adult to undo their belts so that they could dispose of their itchy pants. I caught Fred here almost deciding to help them out and create a scene of two four-year-olds running around in their skivvies."

"I'm half-convinced he put the idea into their heads in the first place," George added with a wide smile.

"Well, I never!" Fred said in mock dismay before breaking out into an even wider smile. "But I do really like the way those two boys think. I have a feeling they'll be giving George and me here a run for our galleons soon enough."

_If my son turns out to be like a Weasley, I'll slit my fucking throat…_

Draco smiled politely at the red-headed pair of idiots and turned to Remus who was asking him a question.

"So, where are the two of you going for your honeymoon?"

Hermione sounded as if she had choked on her own spit and Draco placed a hand at the small of her back to steady her. "We've actually decided not to have a honeymoon."

She seemed surprised by his quick answer and then relieved that it was satisfactory.

"Who the hell doesn't go on a honeymoon?" Fred and George asked together, bewildered.

"We just thought it best if we skipped ours. Besides, what we do on a honeymoon can be done anywhere… isn't that right, my love?"

_I'm going to kill you Draco Malfoy, hubby dearest. I'm going to kill you slowly and painfully._

"Isn't he tactful?" Hermione said in a half-joking, half-serious comment directed towards him. She hoped the men around her caught the teasing lilt to her voice and she hoped her new husband caught the murderous intent in her tone. It was hard playing two parts.

"I bet you two can't wait for tonight," George smirked.

"Ok, we're leaving," Harry grimaced, pushing Ron away from the group and departing quickly. "Congrats and all that rubbish; bye!"

_Now if only we can get wolfy and the carrot-top numb-nuts to go away, I'd be a lot happier. Oh, great, here comes my offspring and beasty's spawn._

"Daddy!" the two boys cried out upon spotting their fathers.

"The cake is so yummy, daddy!" Wolf explained to his father, who had picked him up promptly upon his materialization. "Zane and me had ten pieces!"

"You did? How did you get these ten pieces?"

Zane answered this one. "So many peoples only eated a little bit of their cake so we finished them!"

"You ate the pieces of cake on the tables?" Draco asked, knowing fully well that his son and his son's friend had just acted as garbage disposals.

"Yes! Some of 'em had a little bit of cake and some of 'em had a lot!" Wolf explained. "We ate so much and then Zane's nana said that we can't have any more cakes… my tummy hurts."

"Me too!" Zane said, his forehead wrinkled in confusion. "But I don't have to go potty. Only my tummy hurts."

"Thank you for sharing, Z," Draco replied. "Go find Poodle and tell him your tummies hurt and he'll give you the right potion."

The two boys slowly left the group, scratching at their bottoms and the backs of their thighs. They tried to sneak in another piece of cake on their way out, but Draco's wand stopped them. _Better luck next time, boys._

* * *

Draco turned off the light in his son's room and closed the door quietly so as to not wake him up. It was almost midnight and all the sugar from the filched cakes Zane had eaten had finally worn off.

The sound of Hermione tinkering around in his… their… bedroom made him stop for a second and think about his day.

He was _married _for the second time and this wife didn't like him any more than the first one did. This is where Draco's belief in karma made an appearance. He had been a bit of a whiny bitch as a child and now the higher forces (whatever they may be) decided that he will never marry for love.

When this was all said and done, who would want to marry a twice-divorced, single father? Sure he was handsome as sin, if he did say so himself, but that wasn't enough to find a real mother for Zane. A real wife for _him._ Someone who didn't hate him. Someone who could possibly love him. Wouldn't that be nice?

Pushing away those sensitive, never-to-be exposed-to-another-male thoughts, Draco knocked lightly on his door, irritated at the fact that he had to knock on his own door, but he didn't want to walk in on anything less than a fully-clothed Hermione.

He was granted entrance and he walked in to find Hermione sitting cross-legged on her bed, flipping through a book. Draco tried to ignore her milky-white legs poking out of the basketball shorts she wore as pyjamas, but he was failing. Another wedding night for him spent in a lonely bed. _Yippee._

Not that he wanted to sleep with _Hermione_… good God, no; but he was still a virile man with friggin' urges… and there was an attractive (he finally admitted it to himself) female in his room, sleeping only two bedside tables away.

_NO! No thoughts like that. She is an employee and that's it. Cold showers and your five-fingered friend have treated you well these past four years. Six more months is not going to kill you._

"Are you going to come in or are you going to stand there all night?" Hermione asked, looking up from the publication in her lap. "Is Zane sleeping?"

"Yes, he finally crashed after that insane sugar-high. I only hope my cousin is having a better time with Wolf," Draco replied, pulling off his shirt and walking to his own queen-sized bed.

Hermione gulped and watched as her new husband revealed the expanse of smooth, broad chest she had never seen before. Why on earth was he taking off his shirt?

"You can tell me to get out if you want to change," she said in a broken voice.

He looked at her with an eyebrow raised. "I'm not changing clothes. I'm going to bed."

"Oh," she said, biting her thumb. _He sleeps shirtless?! Please, please, please, oh God, don't let him sleep completely nude._

"Don't worry, I keep my pyjama pants on," he said with a wily smile, lying down on his bed on top of the covers. "What are you reading?"

"The spring issue of the British Journal of Educational Psychology," she said. "They have this great study this month about the learning habits of adolescents diagnosed with depression…"

Draco snored and hoped she got the message.

"You're an ass," she muttered, going back to her article. "Ass-face."

"I love you, too, wife," he laughed.

"Don't even joke like that," she grimaced before smiling back at him. "God, I can't believe I'm actually married... and to you!"

"Yeah, well, I'm completely knackered. I'm turning in. You can leave the light on to read, it doesn't bother me."

Hermione watched him get out of the bed and pull the covers down, catching a glimpse of his strong back and the muscles moving beneath the skin as he moved to get in the bed. Before he could catch her ogling him, she switched back to the periodical in her lap.

"Good night," she whispered once he was under the covers.

He mumbled something back, already halfway to his final destination to a deep slumber.

She smiled softly as she heard his light snores and soon, she found herself droopy-eyed and cuddling into her own covers.

_Well, Mrs. Malfoy, welcome to the next six months of your life._


	10. This Couldn't Be More Unexpected

Disclaimer: All Harry Potter related characters, places and themes belong to J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury and Scholastic.

A/N: Very, very, very, very sorry it took so long to get the chapter out! Please, forgive me? I love you all so very much and I thank you immensely for all the sweet reviews! The chapter title comes from the song "So Contagious" by Acceptance.

* * *

**Chapter 10: This Couldn't Be More Unexpected **

Hermione awoke to the sound of water running and wondered what faucet she had left on the previous night in her flat. The few vestiges of slumber finally slipped away and she realized that 1) she wasn't at her flat, 2) she was at Draco's flat, 3) she was in his bedroom, 4) she had slept a few feet away from him all night and 5) she was married to him.

She shot up in bed as the heart-pounding realization hit her. She was married to Draco freakin' Malfoy. God almighty, she was now Mrs. Draco freakin' Malfoy. Groaning loudly, she sank back into her pillows and drew the covers over her head.

The sound of running water ceased and she took a peek from under the covers to see her new husband walk into the room a few moments later with a towel lazily wrapped around his waist. His flat stomach was ridged with traces of muscles and the darker blond path of treasure trail leading to the forbidden area beneath the towel caught her treacherous attention. Water droplets cascaded down his torso and his usually bright blond hair was dark with dampness as he brought another smaller towel to his head to rub it dry.

She inched the cover back over her head to prevent Draco from realizing she was gawking at his half-naked body.

The mornings in the following two weeks went just like that.

Nighttimes were Draco's slow torture.

Hermione opted to take her showers at night before bed, so after they usually had a nice argument about something or other after dinner, she would storm off into the bathroom and come out in an overlarge bathrobe, trailing a potent scent of musky verbena and jasmine.

She would proceed to scowl at him as she gathered various items and disappeared into the bathroom again, muttering under her breath about whatever they had been fighting about.

He would watch as her pale shins and calves stomped around the room and how her face shined pink with the after-effects of a hot shower.

And then his stupid mind would imagine the bathrobe falling…

He hated his brain.

* * *

After two weeks of wedded non-bliss, Draco and Hermione had made a habit of mostly staying apart from each other, doing their separate things and only seeing each other at breakfast before work, dinner, and once they went to their own beds... and of course in the morning and at night after their showers.

On a rainy Friday afternoon that marked the start of their third week as a wedded couple, Hermione sat on the couch in her temporary home watching Zane play with his Death Eater action figures that his grandfather had given him.

The first time she had seen them was two days ago, resulting in an argument of epic proportions that had erupted between her and her 'husband.'

Lying against the couch cushions, she could still remember the argument which had ended very badly… so badly, in fact, that she and Draco still weren't speaking to each other.

She watched Zane pick up the action figures and make exploding sounds with his mouth. She let the memory of the argument replay itself in her mind as she watched him…

_Hermione picked up the pair of socks that were stuffed under the bed in Zane's room as she set about doing the laundry. After fishing out the dusty socks, she picked up the laundry basket and left the room, but not before stepping on a very pointy object… and she wasn't wearing shoes._

"_Ow!! God almighty!" she cried out, dropping the laundry basket and grabbing her foot with one hand as she hopped around the room, tears stinging behind her eyes at the pain. She cursed the toy, cursed the laundry and then cursed her husband (mostly because she was still angry at him for they had argued that morning over how she should not leave her razor near his where he could accidentally use it)._

_She hopped around for a few more seconds, waiting for the ridiculous pain to diminish enough for her to take a step. Having wiped her eyes from their moisture, she bent down to pick up the scattered clothes that had fallen from the basket and as she did this, she noticed the perpetrator of her pain._

_She picked up the five-inch figure and studied it. It was clothed in a full-length swatch of black fabric. At first, she thought it was a monk figurine, but upon closer inspection, she recognized the tiny Dark Mark on the forearm of the faceless figure. She looked around the room and found four more of the same figurine._

_She was livid._

_A few hours later, Draco came home from work surprised to find Hermione sitting on the couch, her arms crossed over her chest, glaring at him. He tried to remember what they had argued over that morning and if she was still peeved at him._

"_Uh, hello," he said, shrugging off his cloak and looking around him for the usual attack of hugs Zane gave him upon his arrival._

"_He's in his room," Hermione said, knowing what he was looking around for. "I've soundproofed it."_

"_Uh-oh," Draco rolled his eyes. "What's up your bum?"_

"_This!"_

_She was suddenly standing in front of him dangling what appeared to be one of Zane's toys in front of his face. He looked back at her furious face. "You put this up your bum?"_

"_No! I didn't!" She actually growled at him. "I stepped on this despicable thing when I was in Zane's room gathering his laundry."_

"_Oh, well, sorry you stepped on it. Watch where you step next time and you won't be so upset," he said indifferently trying to step around her._

_She moved again to block him, looking up at him with pure fury. "What is Zane doing with a toy like this? Do you find it funny? Is it some big joke to you? What? Are you teaching him about his heritage?"_

_At first, Draco hadn't really looked at the toy, but now that the she-bitch was exploding at him, he snatched the small figurine from her hand and inspected it._

"_It's just a toy," he snapped. "A gift from his grandfather."_

"_A gift?! It's a mini Death Eater, Draco! What kind of toy is that for a small child?" she exclaimed. "Do you know how horrified I was to recognize this stupid _toy?"

"_Will you calm down?" he asked._

"_No, I will not calm down! I do not want to see Zane playing with these toys," she whispered menacingly._

"_Excuse me?" He was becoming more than a little pissed off. "And exactly why would I forbid my son to play with those toys? Just because Little Miss Priss is _offended_ by them?"_

"_Zane shouldn't be playing with them," Hermione practically yelled. "Unless you're teaching him the history of the magic world, I want these toys out of this house!"_

"_Oh, that's right. I forgot you owned the house and that you could make rules that I have no choice but to follow," Draco drawled. "Do me a favor, Hermione, and get out of my face before I make you regret confronting me on this subject."_

"_I'm throwing them away," she said._

"_You'll follow right after them into the rubbish bin if I see so much as one of them discarded," he said, pushing past her._

"_I'm not afraid of your threats," she said to his back as he walked to his room, loosening his tie from around his neck. She had no idea he was contemplating how best to strangle her with it._

"_Good for you."_

"_I'm getting rid of them."_

"_I'd like to see you try."_

"_Zane should not be playing with them unless you want to tell him or have already told him of their connection to you. He deserves to know the truth."_

_Draco stopped midstep and turned to face her slowly. "No."_

_She backed up a step as she saw the unadulterated ire on his face. He took a step closer to her, intimidating her._

"_And why the bloody hell not?" she asked._

"_Because he is four years old, you great twit! He has no need to know anything about the past. Those are just some idiotic little toys and you need to drop the fucking subject before I do something rash."_

"_I don't want him playing with them," she said softly._

"_Too bad."_

"_Don't you want him to know what kind of life his family led before they supposedly found some sort of sick salvation from their sins?"_

"_Are you telling me that I should tell my son that I was once a Death Eater?"_

"_He has every right to know."_

"_No, he doesn't… and do you want to know why he doesn't have the right to know?"_

_She took a shallow breath as she realized she was pressed up against the wall, with Draco still taking threatening steps towards her. He was speaking in a low, furious voice she barely recognized. He came up to within a few centimeters from her._

_She looked him in the eye, actually glared at him in the eye as he was glaring right back at her._

"_My son won't know about his allegedly evil family because _I_ was _never_ a Death Eater. Surprise, surprise, Hermione. Are you relieved, now? Are you happy that you haven't married the epitome of all malevolence?"_

_She stared at him for a few moments, looking into those grey eyes that gave away nothing. He was shielding his emotions so perfectly…_

"_I hope you learn not to make such debilitating accusations again," he said before turning away from her. "The toys stay."_

"_No, they don't," she whispered._

_He heard her and turned around again. "Pray, tell me why. Why are you so damn adamant in getting rid of those toys? Are you so afraid of the big bad Death Eaters that even the most innocent of plastic figures bothers you? Are you starting to regret marrying me, the son of a former Death Eater, a person you thought, up until a few seconds ago, was a Death Eater himself?"_

_Hermione took a breath, wishing that her eyes wouldn't well up with tears. She refused, absolutely refused to let the tears fall as the memories assaulted her mind. "You never had to suffer under a Death Eater's hand…" she said so quietly that Draco had to lean closer to hear her._

"_Go tell your sob-story to someone else and stop telling me how to raise my son," he said harshly before stalking off to their bedroom and slamming the door._

Suffice it to say, they hadn't spoken to each other since then. Even Zane had noticed the tension.

"Mummy?" Zane asked, looking up from his action figures. "Are you mad at daddy still?"

Hermione opened her eyes and looked at the small boy. He was looking at her with his large silver eyes, waiting for her answer. "Your dad and I are not very happy with each other right now."

"Why?" he asked, discarding his toys to lie down next to her on the couch. She would never have thought any son of Draco's could be so affectionate, so sweet, but Zane always proved her thoughts wrong.

She hugged him to her, kissing his head as he snuggled up against her. "We had an argument and we haven't apologized to each other yet."

Zane looked at her in confusion. She had used too many big words.

"We had a fight and haven't said sorry to each other," she explained again.

"Oh," he replied. "I don't want you to be mad at each other. You can even kiss again if it makes you not mad anymore."

_I'd really rather punch the idiot._

Hermione smiled and hugged Zane tighter. "It'll work out soon, sweetheart. Now, why don't you tell me about recess today with Miss Donny. Did you have fun?"

"Yes. Miss Donny made sand castles with us and she made them look real with her wand when we were all done. Wolf and me stomped all on them and we got sand in our shoes! It was itchy."

She was just about to comment when a knock sounded at the door. It couldn't have been Draco because he obviously didn't knock on his own front door, and plus, it was too early for him to be back from work. It was five o' clock and he usually didn't get home until five-thirty.

Hermione left the couch and walked to the door. She looked through the peephole to find an older woman standing outside the door. She looked to be in her late fifties, a severe short haircut and bifocals perched on the end of her nose. A business suit and clipboard rounded out her ensemble as she waited patiently for someone to open the door.

Easing the door open slowly, Hermione cleared her throat and stood before the woman. "Can I help you?"

The older woman sniffed and raised an eyebrow. "Mrs. Malfoy?"

_Cringe._ "Yes."

"Good evening, I am Betsy Dalrymple here on behalf of the Ministry of Magic's Department of Social and Family services."

_Holy shit… the Domestic Ministry Professional. Oh, dear God._

"Good evening, Miss Dalrymple, you are here for the inspection?"

"Yes, that is precisely why I am here."

"Um, well, please, come on in. To be honest with you, we never received any notice that you were starting the inspections…"

"We offered one notice three weeks ago following the announcement of Mrs. Pansy D'Aggostino's marriage. These inspections are not to be at your convenience, Mrs. Malfoy. They are impromptu, unannounced and entirely serious."

_Retract your claws, lady._

"Well, then I'm sorry to say, but my husband isn't home from work yet. Doesn't he need to be here?"

"I'll wait," Betsy said, walking through to the living room.

Hermione thanked all the heavenly beings that Zane had left and had picked up his Death Eater toys, taking them with him to wherever he went. It was the first time in the history of time he had ever picked up a toy after himself.

"Where is the young boy?" Betsy asked, taking a seat on the couch as if she owned the place.

"He must be in his room. Do you want to speak to him?" Hermione asked, trying not to draw her lower lip in between her teeth. Showing weakness was not an option.

"Yes. I'd like to ask him a few questions. Retrieve him."

_Yes, master. Anything you say master…_

Hermione left the portentous bat in the living room and walked down the hallway to Zane's room. He was jumping on the bed, a habit he knew he could be punished for. When Hermione opened the door, he flopped onto the bed and pretended that he had been lying in it the whole time.

"Nice try, darling," Hermione said, hiding a smile. "Your father _will_ find out."

Zane shot her his perfected sad look that still held a hint of mischief. "Sorry, mummy."

"Zane, sweetheart, I need you to do something for me, ok?"

"What?" he asked, jumping down from the bed.

"A very nice lady", (_LIAR!!),_ "is in the living room and she wants to talk to you for a few moments. Will you talk to her?"

"Ummmm. Ok," he replied. "What does she want to talk about?"

"I don't know, Zane. Let's go find out," Hermione said, holding her hand out for him to take. He grabbed it and walked with her back to where the Loch Ness monster sat, scribbling things down on her clipboard with a Ministry approved quill.

She looked up as Hermione and Zane entered and she gave them a sickeningly fake smile. "Hello. You must be Zane."

Zane nodded and scrambled onto Hermione's lap once she had taken a seat in the armchair across from the scary old lady.

"How old are you Zane?" she asked him in a cool tone.

He held up four fingers and increased his grip on Rosie. Maybe he could pretend that Rosie the dinosaur could get bigger and bigger and then eat the old lady. Rawr.

"Do you go to school?"

He nodded again.

"Do you know how to talk?" she asked edgily.

Hermione clenched her fist. _Evil witch._

Once again, he nodded.

"Where do you go to school?" she asked.

"At school," he answered innocently.

"Do you know the name of your school?"

"School," he replied. _Duh, lady._

"He goes to the Little Witches and Wizards Education Centre in Hogsmeade," Hermione replied.

Betsy looked at Hermione over her bifocals with an impatient look. "Zane, do you like your school?"

"Yes. My friends go to my school and my mummy teaches my friends and me and I play at recess and I always play at centers with Wolf," he explained.

"Lovely," she said with a forced smile. "Do you like your new mother?"

"Yes. My mummy is the best mummy in all of the world and I love her," he said. "She makes me cookies all the time and she lets me eat the cookie dough! It's so yummy."

Another pointed look was directed at Hermione. "You do know that raw cookie dough has uncooked eggs in it, don't you?"

Hermione gritted her teeth. "A little raw egg never killed anyone."

"It isn't healthy," Betsy said tersely, writing quickly on her clipboard.

Hermione wanted to take the damned clipboard and smash the lady over the head with it. "Zane is a perfectly healthy child. I'm a licensed child caregiver, Miss Dalrymple. I have studied and worked with young children for many years and I do not need to be told what is good for my son and what isn't."

"_Your_ son?" she asked.

"Zane is my son, yes. I may not have given birth to him, but he is still my son in every other way. Please, do not patronize me, Miss Dalrymple, I will not stand for it."

_Take that, you great bitch. No one messes with Hermione Jean Granger… Malfoy and gets away with it. I'm the smartest witch of my age and you better remember it._

Before the old toad could reply, the sound of the front door unlocking drew their attention and Hermione's heart stopped beating. Draco was home.

And they were angry with each other.

And for the past two days, he had ignored her upon his arrival and muttered a curse word under his breath as he glared at her on his way to the bedroom.

She moved Zane to the floor and jumped out of her chair as Draco entered the living room, looking down at his shoes as he shrugged off his cloak.

Before she knew what she was doing, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him smack-dab on the lips. She pulled back and smiled at him. "Hello, darling. I've missed you."

He blinked at her for a few moments, an array of confusion displayed on his face.

She hugged him and whispered in his ear, very quietly. "The DMP is here."

His eyes widened and his arms went around her waist. "My love, I've missed you, too," he said. He looked up over his wife's head to see a woman sitting on his couch watching them with a scrutinizing look.

"You didn't tell me we had a guest, love," he said, drawing back from the warmth of Hermione's arms.

"I was taken completely by surprise, Draco. Miss Dalrymple, I'd like to introduce my husband, Draco. Darling, this is Miss Betsy Dalrymple from the Ministry's Department of Social and Family Services."

"Miss Dalrymple, a pleasure to meet you," Draco said extending his hand to shake.

Betsy shook his hand and went back to writing on her clipboard.

He turned to look at Hermione with a perplexed expression. She gave him a sympathetic shrug and resumed her seat. Zane had raced over to greet his father.

"Daddy, mummy said I have to talk to this lady," he explained. "Who is she?"

Draco smiled over at the woman who was watching them.

"She works at the Ministry, Zane. You know where Uncle Blaise works? She makes sure that families are always happy."

"Oh," he replied. "Does she know that you and mummy are mad at each other? Is that why she's here?"

Draco and Hermione internally groaned.

The satanic smile on the woman couldn't have been any larger. "Are you having marital problems, Mr. Malfoy?"

_Who the hell does she think she is with her fuckin' little clipboard and that outdated hairdo?_

"No, Miss Dalrymple, I don't believe I'm having any marital problems. My wife and I had an argument two nights ago and I regret to say that Zane heard it."

"Interesting," Betsy said, scribbling on her blasted clipboard.

Hermione closed her eyes and wished that this wasn't as bad as it seemed. "Miss Dalrymple, I truly hope you've noted that my husband and I have made up from our little spat. We are a normal, red-blooded married couple that sometimes disagrees on things. You surely can't hold that against us."

The older woman pushed up her bifocals and said nothing.

They waited in tense silence as she scribbled something down… Hermione was beyond angry at this woman's disgusting behavior. She was incensed! How dare this woman come into their home and proceed to be entirely rude to them. They were legally married and so what if they didn't love each other? Many married couples hated each other.

"This has been a preliminary interview, Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy," Betsy said, standing up. "I'm to report my first impressions to the Ministry and you will receive your permanent DMP in the next week or so."

She turned on her heel and let herself out.

Hermione and Draco stared at the empty seat Betsy had vacated and then stared at each other. Had that really just happened?

Draco sighed and sank down onto the opposite couch, propping his elbows on his thighs and resting his head in his hands.

Hermione's heart broke for him. It wasn't their fault the Ministry had sent the most sadistic, unfair, wicked, vile woman ever to grace the earth to give them their preliminary inspection.

"Are you sad, daddy?" Zane asked, putting his small hand on his father's shoulder.

Draco didn't lift his head as he shook it. "No, Zane. I'm fine."

"Zane, sweetheart, why don't you go pick two toys to take with you and then we can go out to dinner," Hermione suggested, standing up and taking a seat next to Draco.

Zane nodded and left the two of them to their business.

"Draco," Hermione started to say.

"Don't say anything, Hermione," he said, his head still down. "I don't need to be told how brutal that was."

"Draco, don't let this discourage you. One evil woman's opinion isn't going to change anything. She's not even going to be our permanent DMP. There is no possible way that the next one could be as bad as her."

He lifted his head and looked at her. "I wanted to smash her over the head with the clipboard."

Hermione laughed. "I swear to you, I wanted to do the exact same thing."

"How long was she here before I got home?"

"She was here for about half an hour. She asked Zane a few questions and I sparred with her over my child caretaking skills. I'll tell you one thing. She obviously doesn't have any children of her own... bitter old hag."

The corner of Draco's lips lifted. "She needs to get laid to lodge that stick out of her ass."

Hermione wrinkled her nose and shook her head. "Please, I don't need that image. It will scar me for eternity."

Zane re-entered the room at that point, carrying two of his Death Eater figurines. "Ok, I picked my toys. Let's go eat!"

Hermione couldn't believe her eyes or ears when Draco extended his hand out to Zane and asked for the two figurines.

"Z, would it be alright if we gave these toys away?"

He looked at his father in puzzlement. "Why? They're mine."

"Some little boys don't have any toys to play with, Zane. They aren't as lucky as you to have so many toys and wouldn't you like for someone to be very happy when they get a toy that you gave them?"

Zane thought about this for a moment. "You want me to share?"

"No, I want you to give the toys to someone who doesn't have any. It's called donating."

"You want me to donating?"

Draco smiled softly. "It's up to you, son. You can give them to me and I'll find a little boy who has no toys and give them to him. Also, your mummy doesn't like them."

Zane turned to Hermione. "You don't like my toys?"

Before Hermione could answer, Draco answered for her. "She just doesn't like these toys right here, Z. They are a bit scary because she stepped on one and it hurt like the devil."

"Scary?" Zane asked with a giggle. "Mummy, are you scared of these toys?"

Hermione smiled, feeling stupid tears welling up in her eyes for the second time that week. "Absolutely terrified."

"Ok. You can give them to a little boy, daddy. Are you going to tell him that I gave them to him?"

Draco nodded.

"I'm going to pick out another two toys and then can we eat dinner? I'm hungry and my tummy is making noises!"

They nodded and watched him leave the room.

"Thank you," Hermione said quietly.

He patted her hand and quickly got off the couch, heading for the hallway leading to the bedrooms, not saying anything and not looking at her.

She stared after him, her mind traveling in a dozen directions. He was the most complicated man on the planet. He was so unpredictable… so erratic and so… so… human.

She rubbed at the hand that he had touched and it wasn't until they had reached the restaurant that she realized her lips were still tingling from the kiss she had given him.

And it wasn't until Draco had laid his head on his pillow that night, ready to fall asleep, the smell of verbena and jasmine so close by, that he realized he could still remember the feel of her soft lips on his.


	11. Why Do I Dream of You as My Wife?

Disclaimer: All Harry Potter related characters, places and themes belong to J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury and Scholastic.

A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews! I love you guys so much! Check out the picture of Wolf up in my profile! The chapter title comes from the song, "If You're Not the One" by Daniel Bedingfield.

* * *

**Chapter 11: Why Do I Dream of You as My Wife?**

Zane watched as his father propped his shiny, silver and brown broomstick against the living room wall. It had been a long day at school what with the whole 'learning how to read' business and Zane had believed himself to be on the verge of a nice nap on the couch, listening to his mummy rustle around in the kitchen.

But now… there was that beautiful broomstick just a few steps away. Any thoughts of a nap were long gone. Zane quickly shut his eyes when Draco turned around and saw him on the couch. He even kept them closed as Draco kissed him on the forehead.

When he heard the footsteps fade away from the living room, Zane peeked out of one eye to make sure the coast was clear. Yep, no grownups. They had an annoying tendency to say no to a lot of fun things…

Zane crawled off of the couch and checked all around him to make sure his mummy and daddy weren't hiding somewhere. He turned back to the beacon of all things fun and goodness: daddy's broomstick. He reached it in nearly no time at all… it was one hell of a Siren.

He ran a tiny finger down the polished wood of the handle all the way to the perfectly clipped branches at the end. He looked at the opposite end where he saw three letters he knew but didn't understand: D. L. M. He had learned those letters when daddy had taught him the entire ABCs.

He wrapped his hand around the handle and felt the hum of vibration pulse through his arm. It was so freakin' cool!

"Zane Malfoy," his father's voice drifted from the open entryway of the living room.

_Oh, man… so close._

"You have one second to get your hand off that broom."

Zane released the handle as if it had scalded him and turned to face his father.

"I was only touching it," he said. "I wasn't going to ride on it."

"Draco, I told you to never leave your broom where he can reach it," Hermione said, coming out of the kitchen. "He drools like some love-sick puppy whenever it's around."

"He was sleeping when I left him," Draco mumbled, knowing he was just as much at fault. "Zane, you know you can't touch my broom; it's not a toy. How many times do I have to tell you that?"

"Sorry," Zane replied quietly. He didn't like it when daddy got mad at him. "I won't touch it anymore."

"Good," Draco sighed and knelt down to pick up his son. "I'm not being mean, Zane. It's important that you stay away from the broom because you could end up hurting yourself. Do you understand?"

Zane nodded twice and then smiled his 'Zane is a good boy' smile. He used it in emergencies only.

Draco shook his head with a smile and hoisted Zane up onto his shoulders. "Did your mummy say something about ice cream for dessert?"

"I didn't say anything about dessert," Hermione said, putting the broom back in its proper place in the hall closet.

"Let's get ice cream!" Zane exclaimed. "Please?!"

He gave his smile again, turning it towards Hermione.

She smiled back and nodded. "Fine, but only if you finish your dinner."

_Suckers… smile always gets 'em._

* * *

Things were moving slowly… but surprisingly smoothly. It had been a few days since the Ancient Mistress of Evil had visited. Draco and Hermione refrained from speaking that hag's name to prevent any recollection of her existence.

Four days after the initial inspection, Hermione came home with Zane sleeping in her arms, tired from the long school day. She placed him in Draco's bed since the master bedroom was closest and her arms were worn-out.

Quietly exiting the room and walking towards the living room to rest her feet and possibly take a quick nap before she had to start dinner, Hermione didn't expect to hear a tapping at the window.

The post was being carried in the beak of a Ministry Postal Owl. She let the bird in and rummaged through the stack of letters.

_Bills, bills, junk, flyer, bills, junk, junk… what's this? Letter from Pansy D'Aggostino?_

Throwing the other letters onto the coffee table, Hermione hesitated a moment before opening the letter. It wasn't addressed to anyone, but she knew it was meant for Draco. But he wasn't home yet, so, tough luck.

She quickly unfurled the letter written on perfumed parchment and written in glitter-black ink.

_Draco,_

_What the hell are you thinking!? You married the mudblood? Out of all the desperate whores in that country, you pick the mudblood? I couldn't believe my ears when I overheard that you had gotten married… to a _mudblood_!! I am so utterly disgusted with you. I wrote this to tell you that I do not want my precious baby raised by that filth. I'm going to fight for him and keep him away from you and your dirty, lowly wife! God, how could you expose our son to her?! I'm so angry right now I can barely think straight. I won't let you get away with this, Draco. Zack is my son, too, and I want him here in France with me, with his _real_ mother!_

_Madame Pansy D'Aggostino_

* * *

Draco unlocked the front door and tucked his wand back into his blazer as he stepped inside the flat. His head hurt from finally finishing one of his most complicated projects and all he wanted to do was collapse onto his bed and sleep.

He heard Hermione rattling around in the kitchen… it sounded louder than usual, as if she might have been slamming things down on the counters instead of placing them.

Hanging his cloak in the hallway closet and making his way to his room to change out of his work clothes, he stopped only when he heard the springs of his bed squeaking with the proof that Zane was jumping on it.

He smiled and shook his head before stepping into the doorway with a practiced 'parent-frown.'

Zane flew off the bed and ran to his father with a very innocent expression. "Daddy! You're home!"

"Yes, and _you're_ in trouble," Draco said, crossing his arms over his chest. "Why are you in this room?"

"I waked up and I was here," Zane explained.

"And you decided to just start jumping on my bed?"

"I wasn't jumping. I was standing on the bed and then I moved my knees up and down and then I got up a little bit on the bed and then went back down on the bed really fast."

Draco raised an eyebrow at his son's descriptive lying. The kid was such a Slytherin…

"Well, you're not allowed to do that anymore. Got it?"

"Got it," Zane assured his father.

_When's he going to leave so I can get back to jumping?_

Draco smiled at his son and bent down to kiss his head. "How was school today?"

Zane perched himself on the edge of his father's bed and watched him change out of his clothes. One day… he'd be tall just like him… and he'd have muscles too. Maybe he'd have a line of hair on his belly, too… whatever that was.

"School was fun and fun. I learned how to spell my surname!"

"Yeah? And how do you spell it?"

"M-a-l-f-o-y," Zane said loudly. "I can spell all of my name now!"

Draco's head popped out of the clean white shirt he put on and he laughed. "You're a genius, Z. I swear."

"I know," the little boy replied. He swung his legs over the side of the bed, scissor-style and looked at his father for a few seconds. "Daddy?"

"Yes?" Draco answered, walking to the bathroom to wash his face and his hands before dinner.

"When I went to Wolf's house on the other day, we builded a fort in his mummy and daddy's room and we played battle."

"Sounds fun."

"His mummy and daddy only have one bed in the room. You and mummy have two beds," Zane said, his brows furrowed in that mixture of curiosity and confusion.

Draco froze mid-step, coming out of the bathroom.

_Why, oh why is this kid so goddamn smart?_

"And you like to jump on both of them," Draco said, hoping to change the subject delicately.

"Gamma and Gampa have one bed, too," Zane continued, trying to figure this dilemma out. "Why?"

_Where the hell is Hermione so she can answer his bloody questions? She's so much better at making up shit…_

"Why don't you go ask your mummy?"

"Ok," Zane replied, jumping down from the bed and scurrying off towards the kitchen.

Draco let out a breath and sank into the closest chair, rubbing his hands over his face. A few seconds later Zane was back in the room, out of breath from running. "Mummy said to ask you."

_Damn you, Hermione. Damn you._

"And she's mad," Zane said.

"What? Who's mad?"

"Mummy's mad. She looked very mad and she talked very mad," he explained.

"Why is she mad?" Draco asked, suddenly on alert.

_How the hell am I supposed to know? I'm four years old, buddy. _Zane shrugged. "Maybe you have to kiss her so she can't be mad anymore."

"That's not how it works, Zane." _Thank the heavens. Lord knows I'm ready to shag the next red-blooded woman that crosses my path. _

"Can I have a chocolate?" he asked, already moving on to a more interesting subject.

Draco didn't even hear him as he left the room and walked straight to the kitchen, Zane tagging along, singing a song about Rosie the dinosaur and his magic adventure to Azkaban.

Hermione was at the sink, washing something, her posture straight and stiff.

She looked over her shoulder when Draco and Zane walked in. Even with the male trait of not being able to read emotions, Draco was still able to tell that she was furious.

"Hello, Hermione," he started, unsure of what to do.

She didn't reply, but went on washing whatever poor dish was at her mercy.

"Z, mate, why don't you go watch some telephone," Draco suggested.

"Television," Hermione corrected, her voice low and harsh.

"Right, go do that," he said, pushing Zane out of the kitchen.

At first, Draco had wanted to refuse having muggle electronics in his home, but seeing as how Hermione was doing him a favor in marrying him, he allowed the things. Zane had acquired an incredibly strong infatuation with picking up the telephone and pushing random numbers. He also enjoyed watching the strange box with moving pictures. Draco couldn't understand, but the kid loved to watch a show with a huge yellow bird and various other monstrosities singing about God-knew-what. The show gave him the creeps.

Stumbling away from his thoughts, once he assured himself that Zane was out of hearing range, he turned back to Hermione who was now cutting up some vegetables on the cutting board. Actually, she was more accurately massacring the poor, helpless produce. Draco thanked the heavens that he hadn't been born a carrot.

"Uh, Hermione," he started. "Are you going to tell me what's bothering you or are you going to keep it bottled up and then murder me in my sleep?"

She spun around, the knife held ominously in her hand, a piece of mutilated cucumber stuck to the edge. "Nothing's bothering me, Draco. What makes you think that something is bothering me?"

"I don't know, it might be the way you're holding that knife… or the way you're looking at me as if you want to chop me up and throw me in with the stir-fry for tonight's dinner."

She scowled at him. "You're not the one I'm thinking of chopping up."

"Ok, how about we put the knife down and you can tell me what's wrong… or, you can put the knife down and not tell me what's wrong. Either way, I'd be a lot more comfortable if you put the knife down."

"For heaven's sake, Draco, I'm not going to stab you!" she exclaimed, slamming the knife down onto the cutting board. "What went through your head when you married that sorry excuse for a witch?"

Draco raised an eyebrow at this and put the small table they had breakfast on between the two of them. "Are you talking about Pansy?"

Hermione's scowl deepened and she grabbed something from the apron around her waist, thrusting it into Draco's hand. He brought his finger up to his lips, nursing the paper-cut wound she had inflicted on him.

_Note to self: stay away from Hermione during her time of the month..._

His eyes scanned the parchment, his eyebrows furrowing as he reached the end. Hermione stood in front of him, her arms folded over her chest as she watched him read. Her temper rose when he finished the letter, looked at her and then laughed.

"What on earth is so funny?" she demanded.

He shook his head as his chuckles subsided and clasped his hands behind his head. "Are you seriously angry because of this?" he finally asked.

"Of course I'm angry. She's threatening to take our son away!"

The minute the words had left her mouth, Hermione's eyes widened and she quickly shut her lips. Draco stared at her curiously, his mind reeling._ Our_ son?

They chose to ignore the statement. Ignoring things was best.

She took a breath and straightened out her apron along her thigh. "She's threatening to take Zane away from you and you just laugh?"

"Yes, because it's funny. I take Zane's threats more seriously than I do hers. She doesn't even know his name!" He looked back at the parchment in his hand and read aloud: "'Zack is my son, too, and I want him here in France with me, with his _real_ mother!'"

He waited until Hermione finally cracked a smile.

"I can't believe you actually think she has the mental capacity to try and take away Zane. She's dumber than Longbottom on one of his bad days."

She scowled at him again. "Grow up, Draco. Leave my friends out of this."

He rolled his eyes and pocketed the roll of parchment. "Don't worry about this, Hermione. We're providing Zane with a stable home and a vision that the Ministry wants. He's never been happier and I know for sure that Pansy is in no way going to gain custody of him. She's all talk and a bag of wind. Not even wind. A bag of matter-less vacuum."

"What about the inspections, Draco? The first one, it didn't go so well. That stupid hag could very well have ruined our chances… and we don't even know when the next inspection could be or if we'll be at each other's throats when the inspector arrives or if Zane will be running around naked like he's started to do since you let him watch the documentary on that Togolese tribe of Africa. I think I preferred it when he used to suck his thumb."

"When I left the room that one time, the telephone was featuring a show on dinosaurs. I walk back into the room and there are a bunch of naked people standing around a circle banging on drums! It's not my fault the kid is so impressionable."

"It's a television, Draco, or telly for short. Telephone is what I use to call my parents. Now, get back to the point! This is serious. Pansy might act dumb, but she was smart enough to file a petition for the custody of Zane and she might have shrewd Judicial Advocates who can be giving her all the help she needs."

"So, you're worried about the inspections? I thought we were faking a loving marriage quite well. Every time we're in public people still think we're newlyweds."

"That's only because your mother put out an announcement in the Daily Prophet alerting the entire world and seven other planets about our nuptials. It's been a month, Draco, and do you want to know what Donny told me the other day?"

He stayed quiet, waiting for her to continue.

"She asked me if the sizzle has died in our marriage. When she was over here for dinner, she said we seemed to be a bit stiff with each other and that she thought we were angry at one another."

"We _were_ angry at one another. You had left your brassiere hanging on the doorway of our bathroom. The last thing I need is Zane asking me questions I don't have the patience to answer."

Hermione sighed. "I told you it was a mistake and seriously, what century are you living in? Brassiere? My grandmother doesn't even call it that!"

"Excuse me, Miss Lingerie Terminology Patrol," he mumbled.

"Stop digressing, Draco!" she nearly screamed. "People are starting to notice that we hate each other!"

"I don't hate you," he said quietly. "I dislike you immensely, but I'm grateful for everything you've been doing."

Hermione shut her mouth and watched Draco sit down across from her.

"You've been helping me more than you think. You cook, you clean, you help with Zane, you organize outings for us when you know a Ministry official is going to be present so that we can be seen as a married couple… you do all this and run a school at the same time. I never realized how much work I used to do before you came to live here and I wanted you to know that I am glad you are around."

_Ok… who's been playing with Polyjuice? _"Um, well I'm glad I can help," she said softly.

"I'll try harder to not snap at you so often… and I'll try harder to make our marriage seem more authentic."

She nodded, not knowing how to respond. "I will do the same."

"See? We don't completely hate each other," he gave her a wan smile. "We're able to reach the end of a conversation without one of us pulling out a wand. That's definitely progress."

Hermione ducked her head and laughed. "I… I should get back to dinner. I think I hear the bed springs squeaking, so why don't you check on Zane and I'll finish up in here."

"Actually, you've cooked every day this week, so since it's Friday, we'll go out. Plus, I don't think those vegetables can be saved. No spell can repair them from the slaughter they went through."

He winked at her and she threw a towel at him as he left the kitchen, laughing.

Turning back to clean the counter, still chuckling to herself, Hermione's eyes widened and her laughter died instantly.

_Oh, dear God… I was just flirting with Draco… and it wasn't even for show!_

_It was real! Oh, jeez…_

* * *

"Well, look who we have here. If it isn't the Malfoys…" Fred Weasley's voice said from behind their table at the restaurant.

Hermione and Draco turned their heads and while Hermione smiled at Fred, Draco tried his hardest not to curl his lip.

"Fred! This is a pleasant surprise. We haven't seen you since the wedding," Hermione said, standing up to hug the red-head. "What are you doing here?"

"I was meeting Lee here before we head over to Edinburgh for some entrepreneur convention he's insisting we go to," he replied.

"I'm sure it'll be fun, Fred. Edinburgh is a wonderful city and you usually have the talents to make any city your own," Hermione laughed.

He smiled at her and looked at the two varying shades of blond men sitting at the table. "How are you treating my best gal, Malfoy?"

"Like a queen," Draco said affectionately, inwardly gagging.

Fred grimaced, shaking his head and muttering something about disgusting, lovey-dovey nonsense. "And you, Mini Malfoy, how are you enjoying your fantastic step-mum?"

"Mummy is my mummy," Zane corrected. _What the heck is a step-mum?_ "I'm not mini. I'm a big boy."

"Ah, a thousand pardons, sir. Now, I do believe I have a toy that's only allowed for big boys. Would you like to see it?"

"Fred," Hermione warned. "This toy wouldn't happen to be lethal or carry a distinct smell, would it?"

"Completely harmless, Mrs. Mafloy," Fred laughed. He reached into his robes and pulled out a small replica of a crystal ball. He handed it over to Zane and watched as the boy's huge, silver eyes widened with interest.

"What is it?" Zane asked, unable to tear his eyes away from the small glass ball.

"It's a Parent Detector. Anytime your mummy or daddy are approaching your hidden location, it starts to buzz."

Zane's eyes widened even more. "So, I can jump on the bed and when it buzzes it means mummy and daddy are coming?"

"Exactly. Have fun, soldier!" he said and left quickly before Hermione or Draco could strangle him.

The two of them watched helplessly as the little glass buzzed in Zane's hands as they sat by him. Zane giggled in delight as he looked at them and then placed the toy on the table. "I like Unca Fred. His hair is orange and he gived me a nice toy!"

Draco scowled._ I hate Unca Fred._

I wish he hadn't given him that," Hermione said quietly. "As if he needs more reason to jump on the bed. We'll give him a few days with it and then it will mysteriously disappear. Got it?"

Draco hid a smile and nodded covertly. Married life was turning out to be not so bad.

Well, it wasn't so bad until the Ancient Mistress of Evil walked through the door of the restaurant, a young blonde woman with square spectacles and corrective braces on her teeth tagging alongside the older woman.

"Oh, my God," Hermione breathed.

She scooted closer to Draco's chair before he knew what was happening, and grabbed his arm to wrap around her shoulders. He looked towards the doorway and saw why Hermione had gone temporarily insane. Miss Dalrymple and someone he didn't know were talking to the waiter.

"I didn't think they'd give us an inspection outside the home," Hermione whispered in his ear. "Oh, good grief, I think that's our permanent DMP."

"She doesn't look so scary. I think Zane could probably knock her down…"

Hermione sighed and shook her head. She wouldn't admit to Draco that he was right… the blonde woman was tiny and the glasses she wore kept sliding down her nose and she looked as if she spent more time doing algorithms and word problems than she did caring about her outside appearance.

"And I thought _you_ were nerdy," Draco mumbled, receiving a pinch in response.

"Behave, or they're going to give us a poor evaluation. Poor girl must be terrified having to be in the company of that creature."

"Ok, no pitying the enemy, Hermione. That's definitely not allowed."

"Fine, but… oh, here they come. Act happily married."

Draco turned his head and kissed her on the cheek right as the two ladies turned towards their table and approached them.

Zane stayed quiet, looking at his mummy and daddy hugging. They looked silly.

"Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy, good evening," Betsy Dalrymple said brusquely. "I trust you are finding your meal adequate."

"Quite adequate, Miss Dalrymple," Hermione replied, laying her head on Draco's shoulder. "It is good to see you again."

"Right," she replied. "I have sought you out to make you aware of your new Domestic Ministry Professional assignment. This is Rhonda Westin. She will be joining you for the rest of the meal and reporting her evaluation back to the Ministry. Good night to you all."

On that note, the evil horse-face left them to an awkward silence.

Draco and Hermione looked at the brown-eyed girl, looking back at them through magnified eyes, thanks to the eyeglasses. She didn't falter in her gaze and kept staring at them as they stared at her.

"Uh, Miss Westin, please, have a seat," Draco finally said, gesturing to the seat next to Zane. "Would you like something to drink or to eat?"

"No," she said shortly. "Just act as if I'm not here."

_Easier said than done, you twit._

"Who are you?" Zane asked, staring at the strange woman sitting next to him.

"I am a certified Domestic Ministry Professional employed with the British Ministry of Magic. My name is Rhonda Westin and I am your permanently assigned DMP."

_Ok, lady… dumb it down a bit. I lost you at cetenterfied._

"He doesn't understand you," Hermione explained, wondering if their DMP was really an idiot or just plain clueless as to how the minds of children worked. "He's only four years old."

Rhonda checked the clipboard she had in front of her and pushed her glasses up with her pointer finger. "Yes, yes. Zane Draco Malfoy. Age: four years old. Birthday: the twenty-second of September. Birthplace: Dijon, France. Father: Draco Lucius Malfoy. Mother: Pansy Parkinson D'Aggostino. Legal guardians: Draco Lucius Malfoy and Hermione Granger Malfoy. Paternal grandpare…"

"Yes, thank you for that," Draco interrupted. "I thought we were supposed to act as if you're not here."

She looked at Draco and blushed in embarrassment. "Please, go on. I'm not here."

_I wish that were true._

"Uh, Zane, sweetheart why don't you tell your daddy what you learned today in school," Hermione said, steering the conversation to something they usually talked about.

"I already told him," he replied. "I told him we learned our whole names today and then I asked him why Wolf's mummy and daddy sleep in one bed and why…"

"Ouch!" Draco suddenly yelled, drawing much attention to their table.

The poor DMP jumped from being startled, her glasses askew on her face and her eyes blinking rapidly. "Are you alright, Mr. Malfoy?"

Draco held his hand to his chest. "Oh, I'm sorry; I just got um a…cramp in my hand. Dreadful thing, I get these cramps in my hand you see… from uh, writing all day long and from… weightlifting."

Hermione raised an eyebrow at him. _At least give a believable lie, you moron._

He shrugged back at her, keeping an eye on Rhonda the robot.

She blushed again and bent her head. "That sounds awful… but, yes, I could tell that you practiced weightlifting."

Draco and Hermione shared incredulous glances, well, Draco sported a smug smirk on his face, his ego inflated a bit too much for Hermione's taste. The last thing they needed was for the imbecilic, naïve DMP to fancy Draco. That would be the icing on the shitty-life cake for them.

"Do you have an ouchie, daddy?" Zane asked, a worried look on his innocent face.

"Just a bit of pain, Z. Nothing serious. It's all gone now," Draco assured his son.

"Ok. Mummy should kiss it like she kisses my ouchies," he replied. "Then it makes it very better!"

_I need to invest in some adhesive to fuse his lips together._

Hermione smiled her best seductive smile at him. "How careless of me. I forgot to kiss your ouchie, love."

_I've got an ouchie in my pants you can take care of if you keep looking at me like that._

She wrapped her slender fingers around his larger hand and brought it to her mouth. She pressed her lips to the back of his hand and winked at him as she kissed it.

_Definite ouchie in the pants. Adjust napkin to make sure no one sees. God! Your son is a foot away and you're lusting after your fake wife! Have some control, man!_

"All better?" she asked in a low voice meant to be used only in the bedroom.

"Much," he said through clenched teeth.

"I have a di-osaur named Rosie. He's gonna get big one day and eat the fat lady," Zane explained to the woman next to him. "She wasn't nice to me, so Rosie is going to eat her and then poop her out."

Hermione and Draco closed their eyes in horror. The both of them had to clap their hands to their mouths to prevent bursting out in uncontrollable bouts of laughter.

"Zane, mate, that's not polite. You don't speak like that at dinner and you don't speak like that in front of ladies. Understood?" Draco said, his eyes nearly watering in the effort not to laugh.

"Ok," Zane replied. "Am I going to get a spanking?"

"You spank him?" Rhonda said, breaking her bout of silence.

_I thought we were supposed to pretend you aren't here, you great idiot._

"Yes," Hermione and Draco replied.

When they saw Rhonda note something down on her clipboard, Hermione tensed and took a deep breath.

"Miss Westin, do you have children?" Hermione asked.

Rhonda looked up with surprise and shook her head.

"Do you have a certificate in childcare and child developmental studies?"

Again, the DMP shook her head.

"Then please note that neither I nor my husband ever hit our son anywhere but his bottom. Nor do we hit him with anything besides our hands, that way, we know if we are inflicting unnecessary pain on him or not. Do you follow?"

Rhonda nodded and made a shaky note on the clipboard. "I'm not here, remember?"

_Make up your damn mind!_

"Hermione, darling, are you finished with your meal? Zane looks like he's getting sleepy and we have an early morning tomorrow."

"Come on, Zane," she said, standing up. "It's time to go. Do you have your present from Uncle Fred?"

Zane nodded and hopped down from his chair, rushing to Hermione to grab her hand. "Bye, lady," he said to the DMP.

"I'm dreadfully tired," Hermione said. "Let's get going before you have to carry me home, Draco."

"Oh, you know I'd love to do that regardless of how tired you are," Draco said loud enough for the 'nonexistent' DMP to hear.

"Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy!" Rhonda said, getting up from her chair.

"Do you hear something, darling?" Draco asked.

"Nope, not a thing," Hermione replied, leading the way out of the restaurant.

"Ok, ok. You can stop acting as if I'm not here," Rhonda said desperately, shaking like a brittle leaf on a windy day. "I will call on you next week for your inspection."

"Goodbye, Miss Westin. Have a good night," Draco said, nodding his head in her direction and then draping his arm around his wife's shoulders as they left.

The minute they set foot outside the restaurant, a great breath of relief escaped both their lungs before they turned to each other and started laughing.

"I think we're going to have fun with Miss Rhonda 'Uptight' Westin," he said in between laughs.

"Tons of fun," Hermione replied. "You know, now that we've brought down our intense hatred for each other down to a strong dislike, I think we should team up to try and get her as flustered as possible with how much we supposedly love each other."

"She looked like she was watching an x-rated nudie film when she was watching you kiss my hand, she was blushing so much. I don't think she's ever been exposed to anything of a sexual nature," Draco agreed, speaking in low tones so that Zane wouldn't hear them. "I think I understand what you have in mind."

"We'll start out small, maybe leave a book on the coffee-table that has tips and facts about lovemaking… she seems pretty easy to manipulate, yet she has a bit of a firm streak in her. It'll be easy to break down."

"This will definitely make the next five months a whole lot more fun," he said. "As long as Zane doesn't open his mouth to spill his random observations, then this could turn out to be very interesting."

"Oh, but I think Zane adds to the interesting factor," she pointed out. "He never fails to amuse me."

Draco nodded in agreement.

"Why are you whispering?" Zane asked as the three of them walked back to the flat. "Secrets are not nice."

"You're right, Z. They're not. Do you want to know what we were talking about?" Draco asked.

"Yes!"

"We were talking about how you've been such a good boy helping your mummy with the chores that we've decided to let you stay up an hour extra tonight."

Zane's squeal of excitement lasted until they reached their front door.

* * *

Lying in bed that night, Hermione listened to the sound of Draco's deep breathing as he lay a few feet away from her.

Their relationship was starting to tread dangerous waters. They both acknowledged the fact that their attitudes towards each other were changing… but that was only the least of their worries:

She wanted to shag the daylights out of him.

And she was pretty sure he wanted to shag the daylights out of her…

But, no. They wouldn't act on their impulses. If they did that… then everything would be ruined. Sex always ruined things and since their relationship was not conventional at all, neither of them was going to risk destroying something already so fragile.

Closing her eyes, Hermione let the sound of her husband's breathing lull her to a sleep filled with images of that very same husband after one of his showers… minus the towel.

Little did she know that her poor husband had had to ease his own sexual frustration before bed and then fall asleep to a bountiful amount of erotic images featuring his wife spread beneath him, moaning his name softly as he pleasured her.

Who could blame them when they woke up the next morning, grouchy and irritable, and unable to look one another in the eye?


	12. Holds Me Tight When No One's Around

Disclaimer: All Harry Potter related characters, places and themes belong to J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury and Scholastic.

A/N: Thanks again for all the reviews! I know you are all as frustrated as Draco and Hermione are, but patience is key!

Also, a huge thank you to the lovely readers who nominated me at the Dramione Awards! I am so flattered and it truly made my week! I think voting starts in April, so if you have a livejournal account, I think you can vote! Also, I've resurrected my old livejournal account and if you have one, you can add me by following the link in my profile and you can get updates on the progress of this story and other stories. I'm still such a newbie at the whole livejournal deal, but I'm slowly getting the hang of it again.

The chapter title comes from the song: "Love is You" by Chrisette Michele

* * *

**Chapter 12: Holds Me Tight When No One's Around**

Draco awoke a few days after dinner in the company of the DMP with the worst headache he could remember having. It made his head throb and his wrists ache and his stomach churn and his fingertips feel cold.

_What the hell is wrong with me?_

The light strolling in through the windows was torture on his eyes, so he placed the covers over his head and groaned as the movement made his whole body ache. It was a Saturday, _thank the heavens,_ so he wouldn't be going into work, nor did he have to get up early… but he still had to deal with his wife and child. Drat.

"Are you going to get up today?" he heard Hermione's voice say through the covers. "It's almost noon."

_Noon?!_

"Go away," he rasped gruffly. Speaking, it turned out, wasn't a good idea. The effort it took to talk started a series of throaty coughs he couldn't seem to stop.

"Are you ok?" Hermione asked, her voice muffled through the layers of blanket.

_Of course I'm ok, I always cough up a testicle in the mornings… keeps the blood flowing._

He coughed again in response, holding his aching head when his dark sanctuary was suddenly stripped away and Hermione stood over him, a concerned look on her face. "That cough doesn't sound good…"

_The light! It burns!_

"You look paler than usual," she murmured.

He tried glaring at her, but the effort of that also hurt. He decided instead to curl up into a ball and curse her silently. He was so weak… and everything ached!

He felt her warm hand on his forehead and he didn't even have the energy to push her away... her touch was so soft, though, and so damn comforting in his pain!

"God, you're burning up," she said, her hand on his cheek. "Stay here. I'm going to get my wand."

_Stay here? Where the hell would I go in this state?_

He hadn't realized he was shivering until Hermione came back and drew the covers up around him and started her mini-medical check with her wand.

"You definitely have a fever, Draco… forty degrees," she sighed, feeling his face again.

"S-so cold," he stuttered, his teeth chattering and his whole body shivering.

"Oh, you poor thing," she said softly, her hands still so warm against his face. "I think you have the flu. Does any part of your body ache?"

He nodded and started coughing again.

"Yes, I definitely think it's the flu…"

"Daddy! Why are you still sleeping?" Zane's voice said from the door.

Draco groaned and drew the covers up over his head again.

"Zane, sweetheart, you need to go back to the living room. Daddy is very sick and you could get very sick too if you get near him."

"Oh no!" he said with the completely serious child-emotion of concern. "Daddy is sick? He needs to go to the Healer and they can give him medicine and he'll be all better!"

"Thank you, Zane. That's a good suggestion. Now, hurry on to the living room and I'll be there soon."

The quick steps of his son's retreat were a good sign. He brought the covers down slightly and managed to open an eye. "Is he gone?"

She nodded and jumped back when Draco shot out of the bed and practically ran to the bathroom. She heard the retching sounds of him throwing up the contents of his stomach and instantly went after him.

Thankfully, he had made it to the toilet and was now lying slumped against it, groaning and clutching at his stomach. She walked to the sink and grabbed a small towel, soaking it in cold water and then kneeling down next to her invalid husband, wiping his face with it. "Are you done throwing up?"

He nodded weakly, his eyes closed as he leaned into her warm touch. "S-so c-c-cold," he repeated.

"I know, Draco," she murmured, caressing his cheek with one hand and cleaning up with her wand in the other hand. "Let's get you back into bed."

He allowed her to help him up off the floor, internally angry at his weak self for having to depend on her. Upon reaching the bed, he promptly collapsed on top of it and drew the covers around him firmly. "Why… why is it s-so c… c-old?" he grumbled.

"It's just a symptom of your feverish state," Hermione assured him. "I'm going to see if your parents will watch Zane today because I don't think I have it in me to take care of the both of you and make sure he doesn't get sick as well."

"W-wont you g-g-get s-sick?" Draco asked, surprised that his brain still worked through all the aching.

"I had a flu vaccine a while before we got married, so I'm fine for the time being," she said. "I'm going to give you some fever reducing potion and maybe some pain reliever if I can find any."

"G-go t-take Zane… parents' house," he panted, exhausted from the efforts of throwing up before. "M-medicine l-later."

"Stay in bed," she ordered. "I'll help you into a different shirt and then I want you to stay in bed. I'm leaving the rubbish bin right next to you if you need to throw up again."

He mumbled something back at her. It could have been a curse word or a note of gratitude, or it could have been gibberish. The fever was making it harder to understand him.

She helped him into another shirt, worried at how warm his body was, yet still he shivered. She wrapped his blanket around him tight and brought over her own blanket from her bed and draped that over him as well.

His eyes were closed by the time she left the room, a cold sweat on his hairline and his teeth chattering.

Zane was seated on the ottoman in the living room, his eyebrows furrowed and his skinny arms crossed over his chest. The minute he saw Hermione he jumped up and ran to her, hugging her around her legs. "Is Daddy going to die?"

"No, no, Zane. He's just very sick," she said, kneeling down to pick up the troubled child. "In fact, you're going to go over to Gamma and Gampa's house so that you won't get sick, too."

"But Daddy is going to be here alone?!"

"No, I'll stay and make sure he takes his medicine."

"Promise?" Zane asked, his arms around her neck and his wide silver eyes looking at her with the utmost trust.

"Yes, I promise," she smiled softly. "Now, you'll be a good boy for Gamma and Gampa? You might have to spend the night at the manor."

"Gamma lets me sleep in Daddy's room when he was a little boy, just like me!" he told her as she set him down and walked over to the grate. She threw in some floo powder, calling out the Malfoy manor, Narcissa's name.

"Hermione, dear!" Narcissa's smiling face appeared in the green flames. "It's been simply ages since we've talked!"

Hermione raised an eyebrow. "But we spoke a few days ago."

"Simply ages!" Narcissa laughed.

"We can't all be social queens, Narcissa," she replied with a joking lilt. "But, I'm afraid this isn't a leisurely chat. Would you mind watching Zane today and possibly keeping him overnight? Draco has come down with something horrid, the flu, to be exact. I don't want Zane catching anything."

"Oh, my poor baby," Narcissa murmured, her graceful features forming a worried look. "Of course, I don't mind watching Zane. Would you like me to owl the family Healer?"

"That's actually a great idea. I was wondering how I was going to get him over to St. Mungo's. He can barely move."

"I'll owl him right this instant. I'll send Lucius over to fetch Zane. You'll be staying with Draco?"

Hermione nodded.

Narcissa smiled. "Thank you, dearest. You know that you don't have to, seeing as how you're not being paid to take care of him. If it's too much of a hassle, I'll come over and do it myself."

"No, it's alright. I can keep an eye on him. I already promised Zane," Hermione said with a shrug. She was a self-sacrificing person by nature, but she had no idea her charity encompassed the likes of a bed-ridden Draco Malfoy.

"Then I thank you again, Hermione," Narcissa said, a small smile on her face as she studied her faux daughter-in-law. "You sure you'll be fine?"

"I'm trained in the event of a child getting sick in my care. How hard could it be to watch over a sickly adult? True, he's usually whiny and irritable without being sick, so it might intensify while he's feverish… but there are always silencing charms."

Narcissa laughed quietly, jotting down the note to the family Healer. "He was actually quite a good patient when he was younger. Never said a word when he would have to take the nasty potions and never cried when he'd get his immunizations. I mostly think he was terrified if he showed weakness that his father would be disappointed in him, but I made sure he knew it was perfectly normal to be weak sometimes. Listen to me babbling. Go tell Zane to get ready and I'll send Lucius right over. Thank you again, dear. Ta-ta!"

Hermione said goodbye and shut off the floo connection. She turned to Zane who had been listening over her shoulder. "Gampa is coming to get you."

"You're gonna take care of Daddy, right?" he asked one more time.

"Yes," she assured him again, walking to the door when she heard Lucius's quick knock. "Go get Rosie and then you can go with Gampa."

Zane scurried off to fetch his dinosaur while Hermione opened the door to her father-in-law, who must have apparated. He gave her a forced smile when she opened the door and she gave him a real one, just to tick him off a bit.

"Hello, Lucius, please, come in," she said, sweeping her arm towards the living room.

He bowed his head slightly and walked into the room, his robes sweeping behind him in a pompous fashion. "Where is Zane?"

"He's getting his dinosaur," she replied. "How have you been?"

He raised a flaxen eyebrow at her and feigned a look of disinterest. "I've been quite well, thank you. And yourself?"

"Fantastic. Married life is oh so wonderful," she gushed, holding back a laugh at Lucius's sneer. "You still don't like me?"

"I don't like anyone," he replied. "So, don't feel too special."

She smiled at that and realized she was slowly breaking into his shell.

"Gampa!" Zane screeched, running into the room with Rosie clutched to his chest. "Daddy is sick and I have to go to your house to stay all day and then sleep there."

"Your grandmother has something planned for you. So, if you behave like a good boy, you'll get your surprise," Lucius said, offering his hand to the little boy. "Say goodbye to your step-mother."

_Step-mother? Why do people keep calling my mummy that? Gampa is so silly._

"Bye, Mummy! 'Member, you have to take care of Daddy so he can get all better!"

She reassured him for what seemed to be the twentieth time and gave him a kiss before showing him and grumpy Gampa out. Closing the door behind her, she walked back to the bedroom to find the mountain of blankets still wrapped around Draco.

"Draco?" she called quietly, not sure if he was sleeping or not.

"Mmm?" he replied in a low groan.

"Are you awake?"

"Yes, everything hurts," his feeble voice came from beneath the pile of linen.

A spear of sympathy tore at her insides as she approached the bed and pulled the blankets down a bit to see his face. Placing her hands on his cheeks to see if the fever abated, she was dismayed to find that he seemed even warmer.

"You're simply burning up," she mumbled, worried about the flushed look on his face, the pinker than pink cheeks, and the sallow look to his eyes. "Your mum owled your family Healer, so he should be here soon."

He nodded meekly and leaned closer to her touch. She couldn't find it in her heart to leave him, so she sat down on the edge of the bed and stroked his sweat-soaked hair out of his face.

He was vulnerable and at her mercy and she was at a loss. Her maternal instincts urged her to cave and wrap her arms around him, bringing him into her embrace… but her rational side warned her that her feelings were starting to betray her. She was getting closer and closer to feeling more than neutral feelings for her husband. The second bank note hadn't even been cashed yet, and already she was way in over her head.

The knock at the front door drew her out of her reverie and as she got up to answer it, she felt Draco's hand wrap around her wrist to stop her. He was looking at her with the most defenseless look she had ever seen on him. "Where are you going?" he whispered.

"I'm going to let the Healer in. I'll be right back," she said.

The fever was turning him delirious, because his next word made her breathless. "Promise?"

He sounded so much like Zane that she stared at him in shock for several seconds before gaining the use of her brain back. "Yes, I promise I'll be right back."

She quickly left the room, rubbing her wrist where is searing hand had grasped. She opened the door to the elderly Healer standing on the other side.

"Mrs. Malfoy, Healer Claredon at your service," he introduced.

"It's nice to meet you," she said with a smile. "Come in and please, call me Hermione."

"Now, Narcissa told me that Draco might have the flu?" he said, walking with her to the bedroom.

"Yes. His fever is forty degrees, his body aches, he has nausea and vomiting, a very rough-sounding cough, and I think that's it."

The Healer nodded. "It does sound very much like he has the flu. I'll just have to give him a quick once-over with my diagnosis-wand."

They made it to the bedroom and Hermione quickly crossed to the bed, waking Draco up, since he had fallen asleep in the few seconds she was gone. "Draco, the Healer is here."

"I don't want to go to school," he mumbled.

"I think the fever is making him a bit confused," she explained.

"It's quite alright. I don't need him awake to give a diagnosis," he said kindly. He passed his golden wand over Draco's sleeping form and nodded when the color changed.

"You are right, Mrs. Malfoy, he does indeed have the flu. I don't think this will be a long-lasting illness, though, just a twenty-four hour ailment. I want you to give him a cough suppressant potion and an analgesic potion that I'll give you. Make sure he stays warm as long as he feels cold and when the fever starts to subside, don't let him cool down too fast, even when he says he's feeling hot. You can use a cold compress when he complains of being too warm and I'd make sure he stays on a liquid diet until he starts feeling better."

She nodded and stored everything he said in her massive memory bank. "Is there anything else?"

"No, I don't believe so. There's not much of a chance that this will worsen. He will be fine by the end of the weekend if you follow my advice. But, in the case that his fever doesn't disappear, or he gets worse, don't hesitate to owl or floo me immediately."

Hermione nodded, a tight feeling in her gut at the possibility that Draco could get even sicker. But the Healer assured her that it was nothing serious.

"Thank you so much, Healer Claredon. I'll keep you updated on his progress," she said, walking him to the door. Before he left, he gave her the potions she would need to give Draco and his contact information in case she couldn't reach him by owl.

Once he had left, Hermione went to the kitchen to fill some glasses with water, orange juice and to grab a piece of fruit for herself, since she knew she wouldn't have the chance to really eat anything. Wiping down the counters quickly before going back to the bedroom, Hermione felt a sudden apprehension eat at her. She hoped she wasn't making a mistake by staying here with Draco, tending to his frail self, letting her compassion lead her down a path that could prove perilous.

_Don't sweat this, Hermione. He is still an infuriating git… why, only yesterday he told you that he didn't like the way you made the beds when he damn well knows that he can make his own freakin' bed._

_Oh, but now he's lying there, shivering and sweating at the same time, confused and hallucinating with fever, depending entirely on you…_

_Don't feel sorry for him! Stop that! If you feel empathy for him, then that will lead to things you don't want happening!_

_But how can I not feel for him? He's sick in bed and…_

_And he'll be back to his usual annoying self in no time._

_Ok, then I'll just guard my emotions, that way, nothing bad can happen._

_There you go! Don't let him get under your defenses. Men are tricky that way. They _are_ the more pathetic gender after all…_

Hermione shook her head to dislodge the clashing thoughts. She must be going crazy, talking to herself in her own mind… arguing with herself in her own mind.

Peeking into the room before walking in, she saw Draco still sleeping, the blankets still wrapped around him. She walked to the bed and was surprised to find him on his side, his eyes open, staring sullenly at nothing. "You promised to come back," he said in a raspy voice.

"I just went to get you some water and some juice," she said, placing the drinks and medicine on the bedside table. "The Healer said you have the flu."

"The Healer came?" he asked, clenching the blankets in his fists to draw them closer to him.

"Yes and he says you'll be better soon. You have to take your medicine, though."

He nodded and tried sitting up in bed, grimacing when Hermione reached out to help him. "It still hurts."

"What still hurts?" she asked, her eyebrows furrowing as she looked him over.

"Everything," he said. "It aches more than it hurts."

She smiled softly and patted his hand as she reached over to grab the cough suppressant and analgesic. "Take these and then you'll need to rest. I don't want you out of this bed until your fever has gone down."

With her help he gulped down the potions and took a greedy sip of water. She helped him back to a lying position and felt his forehead. "The medicine will take a while to work."

He closed his eyes and nodded. "Will you stay with me?" he asked.

_Damn… how can I say no?_

"Yes, I'll stay. Just get some sleep."

"It's still so damn cold," he mumbled.

"I could apply a heating charm, but once your fever abates, we don't want to keep it going. Just use the blankets for now."

As she moved to stand up, Draco's hand reached out to grab her arm. "Stay… please. I can't stand the cold… it's too much like… like…" he tried saying.

"It's too much like what?" she asked, bringing her hand to wipe the hair from his face.

"Like… dungeons… Slytherin," he rasped.

She didn't know what to say to that, confused as ever. "What do you want me to do?"

"Just don't… leave," he murmured, half-asleep.

With a weary sigh, she realized he wanted her to be with him in the bed… her body providing the human comfort that was known to be a great nurse. Her mother had always told her that a mother's touch was always better than any medicine a doctor could give. Well, in this case, an illusory wife's touch. Admitting defeat, she climbed into his bed, and bit back a startled gasp when his arm dragged her to him. "Better?"

He nodded weakly and was soon breathing heavily, his arm clamped firmly around her waist, absorbing her body heat. Hermione lay staring at the ceiling, her hand idly stroking the strong, pale arm wrapped around her waist. His body was inhumanly warm, due to the fever and Hermione could feel sweat gathering on the side that was held close to him.

Why did she have to be so selfless? Why did she have to be so noble and altruistic?

And why did _he_ have to be so pitiably helpless? In this state, he was preventing the brick-defenses she was trying to put up around her feelings… around her heart. Damn. Double damn. Or, as Zane would say: double dan.

Double dan, indeed.

* * *

_Why is it so effing hot?! Merciful heaven, why are there so many fucking blankets on me?!_

Draco groggily opened his eyes, his head aching softly and his body on fire. His shirt and pants were sticking to him with his sweat and before he could throw the mountain of sheets off of his person, he froze in realization that he wasn't alone.

Hermione was sleeping next to him, her face nuzzled against his neck and her hand resting on his arm around her waist.

_What the hell is going on?_

He inched the blankets off of his seriously warm body and tried his hardest not to wake up the sleeping woman in his arms. When was the last time he even had a woman in his bed?

He looked at the bedside table and saw the phials of medicine and tried to recall what had happened. He couldn't construe what had been fever-riddled delusions, dreams or reality.

He remembered throwing up… he remembered being cold… but after that, it was all pretty fuzzy. How did Hermione end up in his bed? Not only that, but how did she end up cuddled next to him, her breath soft against his neck.

Feeling a cough about to come on, Draco turned his head and tried to suppress it. It didn't work, but only made the cough stronger when it came out. He felt Hermione startle out of her slumber, as she jumped up and bumped into his chin.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said in a sleep-husky voice. "Are you ok? How are you feeling?"

He put up a hand to slow down her inquiries, at least until he could finish coughing. He wiped at his eyes once he was through and looked at his wife, sitting next to him in bed, her hand on his back a worried look on her face.

_Why does she have to be so nice and caring? I liked it better when she was an annoying little wench._

"I'm fine," he nodded.

"How are you feeling?"

"Very warm," he smiled slightly. "My head only hurts a little and I'm not shivering anymore."

She reached up and felt his forehead and cheeks. "You're not burning up anymore, but you're still warm."

"Did Zane leave?" he asked.

"He's at your parents'. They're going to keep him overnight."

"Ok, and why are you sleeping in my bed?"

Hermione stiffened at this and raised her chin. "Because you were freezing and you wouldn't let me leave."

Draco raised his eyebrows at this, but kept quiet. _Try not to get ill again… next time you might shag her and have no recollection._

"Thank you, then. For everything," he mumbled.

"You need to take some more medicine and I think I'll make you some soup," she said, getting out of the bed quickly and leaving him alone in the room.

He lay back on the bed, running his hand through his damp hair. His wrists were starting to ache again and his headache was slowly increasing in intensity.

But none of that really mattered as he thought about what had just happened. Hermione had taken care of him when she could have easily left him to his own devices. He was a grown man and he had been sick before without anyone taking care of him… but she had stayed and had helped him, kept him warm, cleaned him up after his mortifying episode with the toilet and his vomit.

He groaned and turned to his side, the side where she had slept next to him. His sheets now smelled like her… he'd have to wash them immediately or he'd never get another wink of sleep again. He was just glad he was too sick to have woken up aroused, sleeping next to her warm, feminine body.

She was getting under his skin… under his emotional barricades. She was showing him nurture and compassion and he was eating it up like some beaten puppy. He would have to work harder to keep her at a distance, to make sure he didn't start to feel something for her more than a fake-husband should. This was only a business relationship and he was sure they both knew a real relationship between them would never work, especially with Zane in the picture, depending on them to be the rational adults.

It would be tough with his abstinence and their convoluted relationship, but he would weather through the sexually frustrating storm.

Too bad something was coming up that would break through both their barricades… Narcissa's annual Spring Soiree was to be held in a fortnight and as her son and daughter-in-law, they had no choice but to attend.

Little did they know that the Soiree would irrevocably change their distant, platonic relationship for good.


	13. Good Morning, Son

Disclaimer: All Harry Potter related characters, places and themes belong to J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury and Scholastic.

A/N: THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN **SPLIT UP** INTO _**TWO**_ CHAPTERS!

* * *

**Chapter 13: Good Morning, Son**

Watching the cars drive by, Hermione rested her elbows on the metal balustrade of the flat's second-story balcony. The wind was gently caressing her face, blowing her hair straight behind her. It had been a nice day, a successful day, in fact. Her students had all recited their ABC's correctly, including the tricky L-M-N-O-P part. It had been a few days since Draco had finally recovered from that nasty bout with the flu and he was back to his usual, infuriating self.

It had been almost two months since they had married and although they were much more civil to each other than when they had first reunited, their little spats and arguments were starting to get old and annoying. Hermione knew that Draco was trying harder not to let his temper flare, but she could tell that something was causing him stress; maybe work, or parenting… or the frustration of celibacy.

Just that morning, they had argued over the most absurd thing. It was so trivial she couldn't even remember what it was about. Though their arguments were starting to decrease in amount, they were still on edge about the upcoming DMP inspection. It had been about a week since their dinner with Rhonda and they expected her to show up at any moment.

Sighing, Hermione rubbed her hands across her face and smiled as she heard Zane's voice coming from the living room. He was talking to Rosie the dinosaur and explaining how he had said his alphabet the fastest that day in class. She couldn't help but feel a burst of pride swelling deep within her heart as he spoke. She sometimes lay awake at night pondering the degree to which her feelings for the little boy grew.

It was simple… she loved Zane as if he were her own. It was so easy to fall in love with him; his innocence and tenderness and trusting nature could turn the hardest, coldest person into a puddle of compassionate goo.

She felt a scrape of jealousy at Draco for being able to claim him as his son, to have such a wonderful child. After four months, she wouldn't be able to have him as a son; he would be just a student from then on… it would be the hardest transition she would ever make. She prayed and hoped that Zane wouldn't take the separation too hard. But at least she would still see him at school.

His small voice was beside her suddenly. "Can I drive in a car?" he asked as he peered down at the street.

"You have to be much older to drive a car, sweetheart," she said, crouching down next to him to look through the metal rails of the balustrade.

"Just like I can't ride a broom until I'm a growmup?" he said, his wide eyes turning to look at her.

"Exactly," she nodded. "Now, where did you leave Rosie?"

"He's talking on the phone," he replied. "I pushed the buttons and now Rosie is talking to a person."

Hermione's eyes widened and she grabbed Zane's hand before walking back into the living room to find the stuffed dinosaur resting on the phone. She picked up the receiver and held it to her ear, exhaling a breath of relief upon hearing an empty dial-tone.

She placed the phone back in its cradle and handed Rosie back to Zane. "You know you're not allowed to play with the telephone, Zane. It is not a toy."

He gave her a frown, hugging the dinosaur close to his chest. "Ok, I won't play with it anymore."

"Are you just saying that or do you really mean it?" she asked sternly. 

"I won't touch it anymore," he repeated, huffing in annoyance.

"Excuse me? I don't think I like your tone, young man" Hermione said, crossing her arms over her chest, ignoring the voice in her head that told her she was starting to sound like her own mother.

"I told you, Mummy, I'm not going to play with the phone and you keep telling me not to play with it!" he explained. "All the time you tell me not to play with it!"

"Do you hear how loud your voice is?" she asked, raising her eyebrows. "Are you actually yelling at me?"

"No!" he said, stomping his foot and narrowing his eyes at her.

"I don't know what has put you in such a nasty mood, but I would like you to snap out of it very soon," she warned him, her voice strict.

"I'm not in a nasty mood!" he yelled. "Don't say that to me!"

"What on earth has gotten into you?" she asked. It suddenly dawned on her. He had skipped his nap that day, opting to play with his toys instead. "Once your dad gets home, you're going to eat your dinner and get straight to bed. You are very cranky and not behaving like a good boy should."

"No! I don't want to sleep!" he yelled.

"Well, darling, that's too bad," she replied. "You're going to sleep the minute you finish your dinner. I will not tolerate your horrible mood tonight."

"You're a stupid mummy!" he screamed right as his father walked through the door.

"Whoa, whoa; what is going on?" Draco asked, shrugging off his cloak and placing it on the back of the couch. "What did you just say to her?"

"She's being a stupid mummy!" Zane said, his eyes full of tears and his lower lip quivering, his Malfoy temper beyond his control. "I don't want to go to sleep and she said I have a nasty mood and she said that I have to sleep the minute I eat my dinner and... and I don't want to!" he said as he glowered at Hermione.

Draco raised an eyebrow at his son. "I dearly hope you received a spanking for being so ill-tempered."

"No! I don't want a spanking and I don't want to sleep!" he yelled, stomping his foot again. "I want… I want… I want to go to Gamma's house!"

"First of all, you will apologize to your mother this instant for calling her stupid and for making her suffer through your disgusting behavior. Second, you will get a spanking and you will go to bed without your dinner. Third, you are from now on, until I say so, punished: no television, no going to Wolf's house and certainly no toys."

"You're being a stupid daddy, too!"

Before Hermione could blink, Zane was snatched from the living room and dragged to his bedroom where she heard the telltale sound of a smack against his bottom. Then another… and then one more. She heard the little boy's cry and then saw Draco slam the door to the bedroom, his face set in a scowl.

He didn't say anything to her as he grabbed his cloak from the couch and stalked back to the hallway. She watched him walk to their bedroom and slam the door there, as well.

With a tired sigh, she turned to the kitchen to set the table and set out dinner. Draco walked into the kitchen moments later, clad in his house-clothes, his expression still set in unkind lines and a frown.

Silently, Hermione served their dinner and took the seat across from him, eating but not tasting anything. Finally the silence overwhelmed her and she spoke what was on her mind.

"Did you really have to be so harsh?" she said quietly.

He ignored her, but his lip curled in anger.

"I see where he gets it," she murmured.

"What?" he asked in a low voice.

"I don't think you should have punished him so awfully. He was just cranky from missing his nap and while I agree that he deserved some punishment… I believe you were a tad hard on him."

"Stay out of it."

"Oh, that's not going to happen," she replied shortly. "I get a say in how he is raised for the time being."

His scowl deepened and he shrugged. "He was being a nasty little snot and I will not allow that. His punishment was well-deserved and I don't want you to use his crankiness as an excuse. My son will not act like that and get away with it."

For what seemed to be the millionth time that night, she sighed and nodded. "Fine."

"What, no argument? No last word?" he sneered.

"What's with you Malfoy men today?" she asked in exasperation. "I'm simply not letting you get to me tonight. I've had a good day and I won't have you ruin it."

This time, he sighed. "Sorry… my day wasn't so great."

"Why? What happened?"

_What's this? A normal conversation? An argument averted? Hallelujah, there's hope for us not killing each other yet!_

"Just idiots at work," he said quietly. "We received some new recruits today and we had to train them to our specialized methods. Some people amaze me with how slow they are."

She smiled lightly. "You should learn to be more patient. Now, don't look at me like that. I'm serious. You'd be much more agreeable if you were patient with people. I'm sure your new recruits were nervous at starting their new jobs and being under your leadership."

"What would being under my leadership have anything to do with it?"

"You're only one of the leading magitects in the industry. I read an article about it in Business Magic Monthly. So, the poor new recruits were most likely intimidated to be working for Draco Malfoy: the Magic world's answer to perfecting the future of magitecture."

"A magazine said that?" he asked, an astonished look on his face.

"What's this? Your ego isn't inflating to twice its size?" she teased.

"I had no idea. I never thought of myself as a great magitect… a good one, but not great," he mumbled to himself.

"I wish I had a camera… I want to capture the 'humble Draco' image forever," she laughed. "Please, be modest more often. I like it so much more than the exceeding arrogance."

"Don't get used to it," he replied, a half-smile lifting the corner of his lips. "Well, now, I feel a bit bad for being impatient with those recruits…"

"A guilt-ridden Draco? This is even better than humble Draco!" she gasped.

"Are you quite finished annoying the hell out of me?" he asked.

"Nope, never, hubby-dear," she smiled at him. "So, are you feeling bad yet for being so hard on Zane?"

"No," he replied. "My father was twenty times harder on me and that was when he was in a good mood. When he was in a black mood… I wouldn't be able to sit for weeks."

"You probably deserved it back then," she said. "You still deserve it with the mean things you do."

"I think I might be a bit old for a spanking," he told her. _Unless_ you_ give it to me…_

She raised an eyebrow at him and he thought she might have read his mind before she just shook her head and laughed. "Well, if you're finished with your dinner, I'd like to get the dishes done before taking a shower."

"Go take a shower, I'll clean up here," he said, standing up from the table.

She smiled gratefully at him and left the kitchen before she did something stupid like hug him for being a nice husband… or rip his clothes off and throw him on top of the table to ride him like she had done in her inappropriate, awfully erotic dream the previous night.

Pressing her hands to her warm face, she made it to the bathroom and proceeded to take a very cold shower. Women needed them just as much as men, she decided as she shivered, rubbing the shampoo deep into her scalp, any thoughts of a naked Draco driven from her freezing head.

* * *

Coming out of the bathroom and brushing out the tangles from her hair, Hermione watched Draco walk into the room and throw his shirt off before collapsing onto his bed.

"You left the balcony door open," he said as he stretched his legs out in front of him.

"I did?" she asked, wincing when the brush encountered a mega-tangle from hell. "I thought I had closed it."

He shook his head and got up from the bed, walking to the bathroom to do the nightly necessities. "I really don't like Zane out there by himself, so please remember to close it next time."

"Yeah, I will… I was just distracted today," she said as she began to pull her locks into a braid. "I promise to never, ever, ever forget."

Lately, they had found themselves talking just like Zane to each other; mostly in a teasing way. Y_eah, right… you know you're flirting with him… you skank, you._

"Promise?" Draco asked from the doorway of the bathroom, his eyes wide and his smile playful.

She nodded with a laugh.

A night without an argument… praise the heavens!

A night filled with flirting… alert the press!

* * *

Hermione didn't understand her dream. It seemed that she was cooking something, yet something was poking at her side. Looking around the dream kitchen, she saw nothing. What on earth was poking her?

"Mummy," a voice whispered in her dream. "Mummy, are you awake?"

Her eyes opened slowly as she realized reality was intruding into her unconscious world. She blinked quickly and realized Zane was standing next to her in his pyjamas, Rosie clutched in his arm. The moonlight shined throughout the room lighting the small boy as he stared at her with his wide eyes.

"Zane? Sweetheart, what's wrong?" she whispered, sitting up in bed and leaning close to the young boy. "Are you alright?"

"Mummy, I can't fall asleep!" he whispered loudly. "I was a nasty boy today and I'm sorry! I was mean to you and I called you a bad name and I'm sorry a lot!"

She looked at him and reached her hand out to his face. "It's ok, Zane. I forgive you."

"Are you mad at me and hate me like Pansy hates me?" he asked, his eyes filled with the doubt and fear of being rejected.

That did it. Hermione's heart nearly broke in half as Zane searched her face for some reassurance of affection. "I could never, ever hate you, Zane. I am not mad at you at all and I want you to know that I love you so very much. Do you understand?"

He nodded and gave her a small smile. "I love you, Mummy. This much!" He spread his arms wide and dropped Rosie to the floor.

She took advantage of his outstretched arms and wrapped her own around him, dragging him into her bed. "I do believe I love you much more than that because my arms are longer."

"Nuh uh," he whispered and giggled. "When I get bigger like Daddy my arms are going to get bigger and then I'm gonna show you that I love you the mostest."

Another break in her heart as she realized she wouldn't be around when he was bigger…

She kissed his hair and hugged him closer to her.

"I can't fall asleep in my bed," he told her, a mischievous twinkle shining in his eye. "Can I sleep in here?"

She sighed dramatically. "Ok, fine."

He nearly squealed in excitement as Hermione clamped her hand over his mouth in order to keep Draco from waking up.

"You still need to apologize to Daddy in the morning; got it?" she asked.

He nodded quickly and looked over to his father's sleeping form. "Why does Daddy sleep by himself?"

_Oh, God… how do I explain to him the intricacies of this ridiculous marriage?_ "Well, Zane, uh, your daddy decided that he doesn't want to share his bed with me."

Zane looked appalled. "But he's 'upposed to share! You always have to share your stuff; that's what you and Daddy tell me all the time!"

"Um, well, you see…"

"This is unassebtable!" he said, using his limited vernacular to tell her that this was completely unacceptable. "You and Daddy have to share!"

"It's alright. We don't really have to share, um, I think I worded that all wrong before. You see, your father and I…"

"Come on, Mummy. We're going to share Daddy's bed! He has to learn how to share because he's a growmup and growmups have to share their stuff!"

He was out of the bed before she could stop him and she had to maneuver her movements slowly and quietly to get out of the tangle of sheets before Zane jumped onto his father's bed. "Zane, no, come back here."

He shook his head and slowly climbed into his father's bed, being very quiet as he did so. "Get in, Mummy. It's very warm and toasty!" he whispered.

_I bet it is..._

"I'm going to sleep in my bed, Zane. You can sleep with Daddy, but don't wake him up."

Zane's face fell. "Are you mad at me? Is that why you don't want to sleep with us?"

Her shoulders sagged in defeat. "No, sweetheart, I'm not mad at you." _If this kid isn't put into Slytherin then that damn sorting hat is a complete fraud._

"Then, come on." He pulled the covers down next to him and scooted closer to his father who grunted in sleep and turned away from the both of them.

She hesitated a moment before realizing that she had no choice but to get into the queen-sized bed. Cursing under her breath, she gently eased herself into the bed and exhaled once she was settled.

As she set her head on the pillow, Zane leaned over her and smiled. "Goodnight, Mummy." He kissed her cheek sloppily and snuggled into her side, wrapping his tiny arms around her waist.

She squeezed him to her and rubbed his back as his breathing slowly evened out and he fell asleep. _In bed with two Malfoy men… Ron and Harry would be so proud._

* * *

_Either my pillow sprouted some hair overnight or I fell asleep in the wrong bed… _Draco opened his eyes slowly, wondering why the pillow he usually hugged was warmer than usual, softer and pointier. _Ah, my child and wife… Zane's pointy elbows and Hermione's stupid feminine body all pushed up against me. Why do the strangest things happen when I sleep?_

He opened his eyes fully against the light strolling in through the window. He gazed down at the sleeping pair and studied them. How they ended up in his bed was anybody's guess. He had to pee and didn't have time to figure out why he was in bed with the family, so he eased himself out of his son's one-hand grasp and made his way to the bathroom.

Washing his hands after doing his business, he looked back into the room to see Hermione and Zane still in his bed. He couldn't even begin to figure out how they ended up there… maybe they had been sleepwalking or maybe he had fallen into an alternate universe.

He dried his hands and closed the door to the bathroom, taking care of his shower before the two of them woke up. Upon finishing his shower, he stepped out onto the bathmat and wrapped a towel around his waist. He could hear Zane's voice coming from the bedroom.

Walking into the room and ignoring Hermione's sigh of annoyance at his leaving a trail of water droplets behind him, Draco found them sitting up in his bed watching him.

"Daddy!" Zane called out. "I'm sorry I was being a mean boy yesterday and I don't think you're a stupid daddy. You're the bestest daddy in the whole wide world!"

"You're forgiven, but I don't want to ever come home to you acting like that again," Draco replied, digging through his dresser for a shirt.

"Ok. I promise never, ever, ever to do that again," he said.

"Good. Now, are you going to tell me why I found you in my bed this morning?"

Zane laughed. "Because you're 'upposed to share, Daddy! Mummy was sleeping by herself in the bed and you always tell me to share so you have to share, too!"

Draco turned a surprised look at Hermione. _You fell for that? _he communicated wordlessly to her.

"What were you doing in our room to start with?"

"I had to say sorry to Mummy," he said obviously.

"Ok, fine; now, will you two get out so I can put some clothes on?"

"Are you shy in front of Mummy?" Zane asked.

_No, actually, I don't want her to see my boner, son…_"Yeah, I'm shy. Now out, please," he said, watching the pair of them wink at each other and giggle, chasing each other out of the room.

Hearing their laughs dwindle down the hallway, he smiled to himself slowly and began to get dressed for work. A slight tapping at the window caught his attention and he looked up to find his mother's Northern pygmy-owl, Aphrodite, poking it's talon against the glass.

Knotting the tie around his neck, he opened the window to let the arrogant, tiny owl into the room. She dropped a green envelope into Draco's open hand and nipped him once on the finger, paying him back for all the spitballs he used to aim at her when he was younger. Cursing the bird under his breath and feeding her a treat, he opened the envelope, already cognizant of what it contained.

He groaned as he read the invitation to his mother's inane spring party. She held one every year right before Easter because she always complained that the magical community didn't socialize enough. She was also crazy, Draco assured himself.

The party was to be held on the weekend, on the two-month anniversary of Draco and Hermione's wedding. He hated these stupid parties with a passion, having suffered through them as a sulky child. He knew, though, that his mother would forever be disappointed in him were he to miss her party and the last thing he needed was his mother giving him the silent treatment.

Putting on his cloak, he grabbed the envelope and made his way to the kitchen where Zane and Hermione sat eating their breakfast.

"And what is the letter of the week?" she asked the little boy.

"J," Zane replied with a mouthful of toast and jam.

"Give me three words that start with J."

"Jump," he said slowly, swallowing his food and thinking for a moment, "jar and jeans."

"Great," she smiled at him. She turned to Draco who sat down next to them with a sigh and a clearly fake smile. "What's wrong?"

"Spring Soiree," he bit out the words as if they were poison on his tongue.

"I definitely understand what that means. Thank you for explaining it," she replied wryly. He handed her the invitation and watched as she read it. "Why is this a bad thing?"

"Because these parties are ridiculously boring and in your case, not fun at all," he told her.

"Why wouldn't it be fun in my case?" she asked.

"Every Pureblood from here to Wales will be in attendance. You'll be stared at, the victim of all the gossip and sucked up to because you're married to me; you get this _all_ in one nice little afternoon over cakes and hors d'oeuvres."

She rolled her eyes at him and stuffed the invitation back into the envelope. "I don't mind any of that nonsense because I am a much bigger person than any of them. This will be a great opportunity to show off our marriage in front of the magical community."

"Well, at least one of us won't be contemplating suicide," he muttered quietly.

"It says there are no children allowed," she said, removing the invitation once more from the envelope. "What will we do with Zane?"

"I can ask Nymphadora if she'll let him spend the night," he replied.

"I thought he was punished."

"He is. But we'll make an exception for this," he said, giving her a stare that left no room for argument. He went back to his breakfast while Hermione left with Zane to get ready for school, going over the letter of the week once more.

* * *

That very same day, Zane had fallen during playtime, skinning his knees and palms on the pavement. Upon arriving home, he had fallen asleep even before his father had arrived home, too tired from his injury despite Hermione healing it to the best of her abilities.

Draco walked into a calm household, receiving the information of Zane's fall at school from Hermione as she cooked and then proceeding to change out of his work clothes after checking on his sleeping son.

The sound of the doorbell reached him as he pulled on his sweats. He barely had his arms through his shirt when he felt the shirt yanked off of his body. He looked at Hermione with a bewildered gaze, wondering why she hadn't answered the door and why she had taken his shirt off.

"It's Rhonda," she said, her eyes wide as she held his shirt in her hand. "Hurry, go answer the door."

"Can I have my shirt back?" he asked, folding his arms across his bare chest.

"No," she whispered with a violent shake of her head. "Now, go and answer it."

He gave her one last confused look as he walked out of the room wearing just his sweatpants. _She's officially gone crazy… I knew it would happen one day with all that reading she does. _

Rhonda Westin, their permanent DMP, stood outside their door looking her usual nervous self as she pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. She was dressed even more drably than the first time they had met her and her customary clipboard was hugged to her chest as she stood waiting.

Draco breathed a silent oath as he opened the door to the woman and watched as her cheeks flamed bright red at his half-nudity.

"Miss Westin, please come in," he said without any preamble.

"Mr. Malfoy, uh, thank you. I see you weren't expecting me. I'm sorry to come at an inconvenient time," she said in a squeaky voice.

"No, no, don't worry about it. Can I take your cloak?" he asked, hiding a smile when she blushed even harder and let him help her with her cloak. "I'm sorry to say, but Zane's sleeping; so, he won't be up for this inspection."

"That's ok," she said, looking at her clipboard. "I can take this time to examine the house. It's required of all families under our jurisdiction. Mrs. D'Aggostino had her house examined this past week. I heard it's quite nice."

"How good for her," Draco said through clenched teeth.

"We can start with the living room," she said, pushing her glasses with her forefinger and jotting a few things down as she walked around the living room. She stopped in front of the television and turned to him. "Does Zane use this appliance?"

"I don't think he knows how to use it alone, but he does watch it on occasion," he replied as civilly as he could. "Is there something wrong with having one?"

"They say that television is detrimental to the cognitive growth of children and is the leading cause of childhood aggression and violence."

"There are correlations, yes, between aggression and television viewing, but correlation does _not_ imply causation, Miss Westin," he responded. _Thank you, boring educational journal that I found in the bathroom._

She looked away from him with a frown and continued her inspection. Draco bit the inside of his cheek as he wondered where Hermione was and why he was still shirtless. Rhonda looked up from her clipboard and then walked past him to the kitchen where he followed her.

Once the kitchen inspection was finished, after she had looked pointedly at him once she found the stash of chocolate frogs and jelly beans they kept hidden from Zane in the back of the pantry, he walked with her down to the hallway where the bedrooms were. She poked her head into Zane's room and saw the young boy sleeping soundly. "I'll inspect his room next time," she told Draco.

She looked into the bathroom that connected to Zane's room and wrote a few things down. She followed Draco as he opened the door to his bedroom and bumped into his large form when he came to an abrupt halt.

"Draco, darling, come back to bed," Hermione's husky voice sounded throughout the room. "Who was at the door?"

Draco had to use all of his control to prevent his jaw from dropping and his eyes from widening. Hermione lay in their large, fused beds, the sheets covering her bare chest, and her clothes and his shirt strewn haphazardly across the room.

Rhonda peeked around Draco's body and squeaked when she saw Hermione lazing languorously in the big, king-sized bed. 

"My love, it seems our guest hasn't left," Draco said in a voice that cracked in the middle. Damn his hormones. "Our DMP is here to inspect the house."

"What horrible timing," Hermione said with a theatrical sigh. "I'm terribly sorry, Miss Westin. We had no idea you were going to be visiting tonight. Had I known, I would have at least tried to tidy up this mess!"

"Uh, uh, it's q-quite alright, Mrs. Malfoy. I can give you a moment of privacy to get settled. I'll just stand right outside in the hallway," she said very quickly, looking anywhere but at the half-naked handsome man in front of her and the seductively smiling woman lounging on the bed.

The minute she had exited the room and Draco had closed the door behind her, he turned a puzzled look back to his wife. "You've gone off the deep end. I swear you have," he whispered as he started picking up the clothes from the floor. "Do you think she fell for it?"

"She probably thinks we're in here right now finishing up with a quickie," Hermione smiled at him. "Poor soul… did you see how hard she blushed?"

He laughed quietly as he threw a shirt on and looked away as Hermione climbed out of the bed with the sheet wrapped around her. "Ok, she can come back in. I'm dressed," she said breathlessly as she swiftly walked up to him and slid her arm through his.

He stiffened at her touch and walked with her to open the door.

Rhonda looked at them and immediately averted her eyesight to the floor. "The inspection will only take a moment," she said. Pushing past them, she walked into the room and wrote a few things down, her cheeks brightening at the sight of the rumpled bedspread and covers. She walked into their bathroom and came back out after a few seconds. "Everything seems to be in order."

"Wonderful!" Hermione said with a wide smile. "Have you inspected the entire flat?"

The DMP nodded and pushed her glasses up as they fell slightly. "In a few days I will need to conduct a solo interview with Zane. You will need to bring him to the Ministry next Monday after he is finished with school."

"Will you be giving him the interview?" Draco asked.

"Yes and it should take around half an hour or so. I will see you two then," she said and walked rapidly out of the room.

"Wait, I won't be attending," Draco said as they followed her. "I don't leave the office until five or six. Since this is just an interview with Zane, I don't see how my attendance is necessary."

Rhonda looked crestfallen, but nodded. "That will be fine. Mrs. Malfoy can bring him alone."

They bade her goodbye, hiding their relieved smiles. Turning to each other, they sighed before laughing. "You think we flustered her enough?" Hermione asked him as they walked to the kitchen.

"Plenty," he laughed. "There can be no doubts that this marriage isn't a real one."

She gave him a wan smile, an alarm ringing in her head, warning her that his statement was slowly coming to fruition. Her defenses weren't holding up as much as she wanted them to. When Draco was being agreeable and fun to be around, she couldn't help but want to throw her arms around him and have him look into her eyes… bah! Things weren't going as she planned at all.

* * *

A/N: The chapter title comes from the song, "Still Fighting It" by Ben Folds.


	14. Charge In and Rescue You

Disclaimer: All Harry Potter related characters, places and themes belong to J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury and Scholastic.

A/N: The chapter title comes from the song, "Breathless" by Shayne Ward

**THIS IS THE SECOND PART OF CHAPTER 13!!**

* * *

**Chapter 14: Charge In and Rescue You**

Zane stared in fascination as he watched Hermione apply a light layer of pink lip balm to her lips. In her light green dress and her hair pulled up in a frenzied updo, she was the most beautiful mummy in the entire universe!

"Can I have some?" he asked, sitting next to her at the vanity table in the master bedroom.

She looked down at him with a smile. "You want some lip color?"

"Yes! It smells like strawberry jelly beans!" he laughed, puckering his lips.

She laughed and applied some of the pink color to Zane's lips and bent down to kiss them once she was finished. "Perfect!"

"It tastes yucky!" he said with grimace. "Can I have some on my eyes?"

"You don't put this on your eyes," she explained.

"You have pink on your eyes," he pointed out. "I want some too!"

She picked up the light pink powder and brush and applied a layer of pink to Zane's closed eyelids. "It tickles," he laughed. "Do I look pretty yet?"

A bubble of laughter escaped her throat at his incorruptibility. "You're the prettiest little boy I've ever seen."

He opened his eyes and gave her a sneaky grin. "Boys aren't pretty, Mummy! You're 'upposed to say that I'm handsome!"

"Oh, excuse me," she smiled. "You are, by far, the handsomest boy in the world."

Draco walked in to the room, buttoning up his navy dress-shirt. "Hermione, have you seen my blazer with the silver…" his voice trailed off as he looked at his son sitting next to her.

"Look, Daddy! I'm wearing makeup like Mummy!" he proudly announced.

He turned a furious glance to Hermione. "Why is my son wearing makeup?"

"He wanted to wear it, so I put some on him," she replied with a shrug.

"Zane, go wash your face," Draco said wearily. "Boys do not wear makeup."

"Okey dokey," Zane complied, jumping off the seat and scurrying to the bathroom, his giggles following him like a shadow. "My face is itchy!"

"That's just what I need, Hermione," he sighed once the boy left the room, "my son to experiment in drag; it would make my life so much easier. Why don't you let him try on your dress, too?"

Hermione rolled her eyes and couldn't help but laugh. "Your son is very confident in his gender role. Would you love him any less if he did decide to become a drag queen?"

"Don't ask me that," he replied with a scowl. "That's not a fair question. You know my father raised me with certain standards and God only knows what I would do if my son came up to me claiming that he wanted to be a girl…"

"We could call him Zana," she said teasingly, but stopped laughing when Draco glared at her. "Grow up, Draco. Zane is a typical curious boy who is going to be breaking many female hearts when he's older."

He shook his head in irritation and walked into the closet to grab his dress shoes. "Are you ready to get going?" he called from the closet.

"Yes. Did I tell you that your mother invited Donny to the party?" she called back to him.

He walked back into the room and placed his wand in the holster under his arm. "Really? Well, then this party should be a lot more entertaining than usual. I'd like to see how she interacts with the old hags who usually attend these things."

"She told me she recently joined a book club," Hermione told him as he helped her with her cloak. "They mostly read erotic fiction, so I'm sure she'll have plenty to talk about with these ladies."

They exchanged grins and together got Zane dressed and packed for his sleepover at Wolf's house.

* * *

"Hermione, dear! You're looking as lovely as ever," Narcissa greeted her son's wife warmly, kissing her cheeks and hugging her tight. "That green is simply beautiful on you."

"You flatter me beyond words, Narcissa," Hermione laughed. "But I can't even measure up to the hostess. You look younger every time I see you."

"Oh, stop," Narcissa replied with a chuckle. "I see you let Draco dress himself today. Darling, you're not supposed to wear navy to a spring party. Pastel colors are more proper."

Draco rolled his eyes as he bent his head to kiss his mother's cheek. "Tell that to your husband who is decked out in the cheeriest color of black."

Narcissa nodded with a roll of her own eyes. "He is so damned stubborn. He nearly fainted when I told him he should match his outfit with my new dress."

Hermione and Draco inwardly winced at the image of Lucius in light-pink robes. That definitely would have made the party a success.

"Now, come along, Hermione, I want to introduce you to my friends. Donatella is already out in the garden regaling them with her fun little stories," Narcissa mentioned, looping her arm through Hermione's and walking towards the garden doors.

Draco heaved a sigh and followed the two women out to the garden decorated in pinks, light blues, pastel greens, and white. He bit back a curse as he remembered how he used to loathe these things as a child.

Narcissa was having a grand time, showing off her daughter-in-law to all the stuffy, pretentious women at the party. Hermione's wit and charm impressed Draco as she managed to make even the stiffest old crones burst into giggles.

He lounged in one of the wicker chairs near the back of the garden and watched his wife make the rounds with his mother. His eyes raked over Hermione's slender figure in the sleek dress Donny had helped pick out. Her hair was barely maintained in the French twist she quickly put together that morning. Pins and clips held in all the frizzy curls, yet some renegade strands had managed to escape their confines and frame her face softly.

Gritting his teeth, his gaze wandered down her body, pausing at her chest and hips. She wasn't overly-endowed in the chest area, but what she lacked upstairs, she made up for in the gracious curve of her buttocks. The way she stood, her back straight and her chin lifted, exuded feminine confidence and regal care…

"It's as if you two are still newlyweds," Donny said lightly, sitting down next to him in a matching wicker chair. "I swear she's going to catch on fire with that look you're giving her."

"And a hello to you, too, Donny," Draco muttered. "Enjoying the party?"

"Definitely," she laughed. "I just had the most interesting conversation with one of your mother's friends. She didn't know the difference between erotic fiction and romantic fiction, so I told her. Poor lady, I don't think she's regained consciousness."

He laughed with a shake of his head. "I'm glad you're enjoying yourself."

She shrugged and took a sip of the champagne in her hand. "I didn't think your father had so many young friends… why are all those young blokes here?" she asked, pointing to one side of the garden where men around Draco's age stood.

"Those are the sons of my parents' guests. I claim a strong hatred for them," he explained.

"Why?"

"They went to Durmstrang and I went to Hogwarts," he explained.

"Riiight," she replied. "You hate them because they went to a different school?"

"I hate them because they mocked me for not going to Durmstrang. I led a very prideful childhood, so once they bruised my ego, I resented them."

"Well, that makes me feel better for turning one of them down. He actually used a pickup line… I nearly vomited on his shoes," she said.

"I wish you had," he said softly, narrowing his eyes at the group of idiots he avoided at every Spring Soiree. "Which one hit on you?"

"The one wearing the dark grey suit. Tall, dark and evil-looking," she said and pointed to the group.

"Ah, Victor Reid, the most annoying one of all," he said. "His ego is even bigger than mine if you can believe it. I've always wanted to bring him down a peg or two, maybe punch him in that smug face of his."

"If it makes you feel any better, I told him that he uses too much cologne and the smell makes my eyes water," she said with a small laugh. "Had I known you hated him so much, I would have used my more colorful vocabulary."

"Have I told you how much I look forward to the day you start teaching my son?" he teased her. "I mean, he's not going to get a better street education from anyone else…"

She punched him on the arm and left him laughing to himself, a usual encounter between the two of them.

* * *

Hermione turned when she felt the warm hand on her shoulder, expecting Draco to be behind her as she stood admiring the professionally sculpted hedges. Instead, a man she didn't know stood behind her, a rakish smile on his attractive face. "Mrs. Malfoy?"

"Yes?" she replied, taking in his expensive suit and perfectly coiffed hair. He was darkly handsome and very much intimidating.

"I just had to come over and introduce myself," he said in a hushed voice. "I am Victor Reid, one of your husband's oldest friends. He's a right rogue for not introducing me to his beautiful new wife."

Hermione gave him a polite smile. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mr. Reid. Draco has never mentioned you, I'm afraid."

"Like I said, he's a complete rogue," Victor said with a husky laugh. "Could you do me a favor?"

_Absolutely not, you strange, creepy man… _"What is it?" she asked instead.

"I was wondering if you would mind giving me a tour of the Malfoy family library. Lady Narcissa was telling me that you have an expansive knowledge in literature and I've always been fascinated by the collection that the Malfoys boast."

"In all actuality, Mr. Reid, I've only been in the library a few times. I don't think I'd be the right person to give you a tour," she said kindly.

"Oh, but it would please me greatly," he said, giving her a charming smile. "I see my old friend is occupied at the moment and I saw this as an opportunity to get to meet the new Mrs. Malfoy."

Hermione looked over to where Draco stood speaking to his father and a few other gentlemen. He smiled devastatingly at some quip someone made and Hermione felt her own lips curve into a smile and her heart give an odd beat as his gaze met hers across the garden. He gave her a wink and went back to pretending to laugh at some lame joke.

"Very well, Mr. Reid. I'll show you the library," she conceded, seeing no harm in showing the man the collection of books. "If you'll follow me?"

She walked back into the manor with Victor following her. Making their way to the vast library on the second floor, Hermione suddenly felt a prick of wariness in being alone with this stranger. She looked over her shoulder and found him staring at her backside.

_Damn me! What have I gotten myself into?_

"The earliest record indicates that Ranulf Malfoy, the second Lord of the Malfoy manor, was the one to start the library in the sixteenth century," she said calmly as they walked into the quiet, large room.

"How interesting," Victor murmured. "Tell me, lass, how do you know all of this information?"

"When I married Draco, I read some books on the Malfoy history. It's actually quite fascinating and I was surprised to find myself enthralled with the story behind one of the most powerful Pureblood families in the Wizarding world. I'm also surprised to find that you would want to tour the library when you claim you are one of Draco's oldest friends. Why are you really here?"

He smiled at her and took a step forward. "You are too smart for your own good, my sweet."

"I am not your sweet," she said sternly. "I am finished here. You can show yourself out." She took a step towards the door and gasped when her arm was gripped in his steel-grasp. "Please, unhand me, Mr. Reid."

"Now, why would I go and do that?" he asked, dragging her to the farthest corner of the library… the corner farthest from the door and her only exit. He clamped his hand over her mouth and pulled out his wand, casting a silencing spell on her, his smile still bright and devilish as his eyes raked over her struggling form. "Be a good girl and stop resisting. I know you'll enjoy this as much as I will."

Her ire and fury at him were equal to the anger she felt at herself for being stupid enough to fall for his ploy. She tried kicking him as he held her wrists tightly, but he wedged a knee between her legs to stop her.

Her heart beat rapidly and she willed her brain to think of a quick escape. Victor clasped both her wrists behind her back using only one of his hands while the other hand caressed her cheek. "So pretty, my sweet. That fool, Malfoy, does not deserve you."

_I'm going to rip you to shreds the minute I can find a way to get out of your damn grasp!_

"I see the way your eyes burn, searing into me… I like passion in a woman," he chuckled, bending his head to caress her neck.

_Heavens above, did he take a swim in his fucking cologne?_ Hermione nearly gagged as his scent enveloped her and she still struggled to get out of his unceasing grasp. She gave an inaudible scream as she felt his hand cup her breast roughly. This was it… she was going to be raped… in her husband's childhood home, no less.

When she heard a tear in the fabric of her dress, it seemed as if her heart had stopped it was beating so hard. Victor's knee, wedged between her thighs, pushed up against her, making her wince at the violent contact. As his hand made contact with her bare chest, his grip on her wrists loosened slightly and she finally managed to bring one hand out. She reached for her wand, tucked in its holster around her thigh, but he immediately grabbed her hand and twisted it painfully.

She gave a soundless cry at the pain and turned to glare at him as he gazed back at her with unadulterated, crazed lust. He bent his head and kissed her harshly, his tongue plundering her mouth, despite her efforts to keep her teeth clenched tight.

A wave of nausea clenched her gut and she felt tears burn the back of her eyelids…

Suddenly, his mouth was ripped away from hers and she was free of his grasp. Startled, she opened her eyes to find Victor's feet dangling inches off the floor as Draco's hand encircled his neck, gripping it in relentless fury.

"I see you've met my wife," Draco said in a calm rage as Victor's face turned red from being choked. "What's that? I can't hear you, Reid. Did you say something?"

Victor clawed at Draco's grip around his neck.

Draco let the man fall to the floor with a loud thud before picking him up by the lapels of his coat. "You enjoy preying on defenseless women?" he asked in a lethal whisper. "Did you actually think you could get away with touching _my_ wife?"

Hermione felt her lower lip quiver as she watched the scene in front of her. Her heart still hadn't slowed down and her wrists ached from the bruising grasp they had been held in.

She watched as Draco drew his fist back and punched Victor squarely in the jaw. The groan of pain emitted from the other man seemed to elicit another punch from Draco. After four more punches, blood oozing from Victor's nose and covering Draco's fist, he let the battered man fall to the floor once more.

"If you come anywhere near her, Reid, I'm going to kill you with my bare hands. I won't even use a wand. If you talk to her, if you look at her, if you even think about her, I'm going to make you wish you had never been born," Draco said in a rough whisper before kicking the man once in the ribs.

Donny's gasp interrupted anything that would have happened next. "What the hell is going on?"

"Donny, could you please find my wife's cloak and retrieve it? I'm going to floo Mr. Reid back to where he belongs," Draco said tonelessly, picking up the invalid man from the floor.

With wide eyes and a concerned look towards Hermione, Donny did as she was told and left the library. Hermione watched as her husband dragged the bloodied gentleman to the fireplace and flooed him away to a place she couldn't hear.

Grabbing a handkerchief from the inside of his coat, Draco wiped the blood from his hand and pressed the cloth to his scraped knuckles. He gave Hermione one quick look that held an array of fury and frustration.

Donny came back into the library with Hermione's cloak and immediately rushed to her friend. "Hermione, what happened? Are you ok? Oh my goodness, your dress is torn and look at your wrists! They're red; oh, Hermione, what did he do to you?" her words came out in a rush of tears and gasps.

Hermione placed her hand on Donny's arm to calm her, shaking her head to tell her she was alright. She pointed to her throat and made a silencing motion with her fingers. Donny's eyes widened even further before she pulled out her wand and undid the silencing spell.

"I'm ok, Donny," Hermione said in a hoarse voice, adjusting to the ability of using her voice again. "Go back to the party. Don't let anyone know what has happened."

"What_ did_ happen?" she asked, helping Hermione put her cloak on.

"Nothing happened," Draco said callously from behind them, glaring daggers at Hermione. "My wife and I are going home. Tell my mother that we had to leave and if she asks why, tell her we had forgotten a previous engagement."

Donny looked between the two of them, not knowing the right thing to do. Draco looked like he was ready to murder someone and Hermione's eyes were resting on her shaking hands. "Please, Don, do as he says. I assure you, I'm fine."

With a final worried glance, Donny nodded her head and fled the library.

Alone in the library with her irate husband, Hermione shakily took a breath and managed a glance at him. He was still staring at her with no trace of a positive emotion. She flinched at his unwavering gaze and shook her head to clear it.

"Let's go," Draco finally said, grabbing her elbow and leading her to the fireplace.

They didn't say one word to each other as they finally landed in the living room of their flat. Hermione's eyes and throat burned with the sobs she had withheld and her whole body felt soiled. She wanted to take a long, long shower and then cry herself to sleep.

Before she could even take one step in the direction of the bathroom, Draco was standing in front of her, his eyes narrowed in icy ferocity and his hands grabbing her shoulders. "Just what the hell were you doing alone with him? You had no idea who he was, yet you agreed to go traipsing off with him without telling anyone where you were going!"

Hermione stared at him and opened her mouth to defend herself when he interrupted her unspoken argument. "Have you completely lost all of your sense? What on earth possessed you to even talk to him?"

"He didn't come up to me and introduce himself as a rapist, you stupid git!" she finally screamed. "He wanted a tour of the library and I…"

"A tour of the library?" Draco yelled. "Why on earth would anyone want a tour of the library? And why on earth were you dumb enough to fall for his deception? I nearly lost my mind with worry when I saw what he was doing to you!"

"Don't call me dumb!" she screeched at him, her blood boiling with pure anger and her eyes spitting fire at him. "I made a mistake… I was assaulted and you're standing there yelling at me as if it were my fault! I was so fucking scared and I couldn't even call for help and all I could think about was how stupid I was for believing the best in people… so, I don't need you tell--"

Her words were cut off as Draco's lips descended on hers in a crushing beat. She stood motionless for a limited number of seconds, her back against the wall, as she comprehended what was going on. She felt his hands cup her face in a firm grasp, his palms burning hot against her cheeks. Her heart already beating and her blood already boiling, Hermione found herself winding her arms around his neck and dragging his body closer to hers as he attacked her mouth with his lips.

Opening her mouth to him, she tasted him for the first time, feeling the velvet warmth of his tongue and his mouth, the taste of ambrosia…

Draco felt all the anger and fear and concern that had attacked his body from seeing his wife in the arms of a vicious man rush out as he feasted on her mouth. As her fingers reached up into his hair, he groaned slightly into her mouth, relishing in the feel of her nails scraping against his scalp.

They both knew it… this would be nothing sweet or gentle. He was going to take her, and he was going to take her hard.

Speaking of hard, Hermione could feel just how much this was affecting him against her waist. Dragging her mouth away from his to take a breath, she looked up into his eyes and saw the same needy emotion that she was sure emanated from her own. His look spoke volumes: there was no turning back for them.

Grabbing his face again, she brought their lips together once more and moaned as she felt his hands slide down her body, cupping her curves. He ripped his mouth away from hers and dragged his lips down her neck, nipping lightly with his teeth and kissing the marks he left behind.

She arched her back and pushed her front against him, needing to feel closer to him, to feel the body heat radiating from him. Her lungs hurt with the short pants of breath she was taking and a coil of warmth and tension was easing its way from her sensitive, tingling breasts to the apex of her thighs.

A small cry escaped her lips as Draco pulled down the strap of her dress with his teeth and gave her chest the attention it deserved. His teeth, tongue and lips spared her no mercy as he attended to her pleasure and she felt her knees go weak when his unoccupied hand gripped her thigh in a fierce grasp. A low sound came from his throat as his hand inched up her thigh to her warm womanhood. He pulled down her panties with absolute haste and with his other hand, cupped the back of her head and kissed her again, not satisfied with the small taste he had gotten before… he needed more.

His entire body was on fire, just from touching his wife, just from tasting her sweet, hot mouth, just from having her petite hands roam through his hair and down his chest. There was absolutely no damn way he was going to last after four years of abstinence…

His fingers explored aggressively between her open legs and the broken sigh she elicited was enough to drive him mad. She was burning, ready and completely compliant with his ministrations, urging him on with her tiny whimpers, her drawn out moans and her whispered calls of his name. _His_ name… it sounded like the music of paradise coming from her ripe, swollen lips. Never had he been so eager to hear it.

"Do… you th-think … bad idea?" Hermione's breathless voice sounded as his fingers kept up their work on the lower half of her body.

He kissed her hard, finding the most sensitive part of her and attacking it with his fingers until she cried out it in blissful agony. "No," he replied. "But, then again… I don't really care."

Her limbs shaking and her knees weak, Hermione blinked her eyes open slowly. Her mind was muddled with the aftereffects of her climax and yet she still felt unfulfilled…

She brought her hand down to the button of Draco's pants and fumbled with the clasp and zipper, her hands quivering beyond reason. Once the challenge of taking off his pants, which had suddenly seemed to have the difficulty of rebuilding a rocket engine, was accomplished, Hermione felt the brazen side of her come out and she reached for him, taking him in her hand.

His breath hitched as he rested his forehead against hers and took her lips again. He swatted her hands away from stroking him, unable to take the unbearable pleasure. "Just a warning," he gasped, "I'm definitely not going to last very long once I'm inside you… it's been so long."

His words wrapped around her in a delicate caress and she nodded. He had already attended to her pleasure, knowing that he wouldn't be able to please her the way he wanted to. She brought her hands to his face and stroked the stubble against her palms. "Don't worry about it," she said. "There's always next time."

_WHOA!_Draco's heart nearly stopped._ NEXT TIME?... Oh, the hell with it; this relationship was doomed to start with._

Dragging her dress up over her hips and to her waist, he cupped her derriere in both hands and lifted her off the floor. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him deeper.

A siren sounded in her head right as she wrapped her legs around his waist. "Draco," she breathed. "I'm not protected."

"When Pansy told me she was pregnant I got a Healer to perform a semi-permanent contraceptive charm on me… we're fine," he said quickly, diverting her attention back to the task at hand or more precisely, the task at groin.

She smiled against his lips and threw her head back once he had thrust his whole length into her with no subtlety. She felt whole and stretched and complete in some sort of sexual nirvana. He was right… he didn't last long after sheathing himself in her silky warmth and after just a few seconds she heard him groan his release and felt his back shudder under her nails.

"Sorry," he mumbled against her shoulder. "I did warn you…"

She laughed breathlessly and turned his face to hers, kissing him gently. "Don't apologize."

He kissed her neck and nodded. "What did we just do?"

"I believe we just consummated our marriage," she said quietly. "Big mistake?"

"Oh, yes, very big," he said against her neck, withdrawing himself from her and placing his hand back on her most private area.

"What are you doing?" she asked on a gasp, feeling his fingers probe her and his thumb seeking the most responsive part of her.

"My pride is already battered; I need to gain a modicum of dignity back… now just enjoy this or I'll bite you," he whispered in her ear.

"Be my guest," she said in a fractured voice, moaning when he obeyed and bit her neck and jaw softly. Another moan escaped her lips as she grasped his shoulders tighter in her hands. "Draco…"

In a shattering of lights and sensation, she climaxed against his hand for the second time and felt the breath leave her body as he captured her mouth with his, catching her when she felt like she was falling from a substantial sensual high.

* * *

Lying in separate beds that night, not having spoken to each other since their liaison against the wall in the living room, Hermione turned on her side to face Draco's bed. "You know I can't just stay quiet about this," she started. "What have we gotten ourselves into?"

She heard his sigh and heard the bed creak as he turned to face her. "This is how I see it; we have four more months together and I was thinking… I was thinking that we, uh…"

"That we turn this into a mutually satisfying relationship?" she asked, knowing exactly what he was thinking.

"Yes. We're sexually attracted to each other and I don't think it would be that bad if we helped each other out… it would be strictly physical," he said.

_Hubby-dear, it's way past just physical._

"We might as well take advantage of having a willing bed partner every night," he continued, "but, if you don't want to, just say so."

"I… want to," she said quietly. "Everyone already assumes we're a real married couple, so there's no harm in divulging in our, um, more carnal pleasures."

"Carnal pleasures?" he laughed. "Yeah, ok, you can call it whatever you want."

She ignored him, but smiled in the dark. "Draco?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you still angry with me?"

She heard another sigh from him. "No. I overreacted, Hermione. I'm sorry, I was just so… so fucking furious that you were in danger at the hands of one of the men I hate the most. I never asked, but are you alright? Did he hurt you?"

Her eyes stung with the sudden onslaught of shallow tears. "My wrists are a bit sore from his hold on them… but you stopped him before he could do any more damage."

"Bastard," she heard him grumble. "I would have liked to kill him."

"Oh yes, your mother would have loved to have that happen in her library," she said, trying to lighten the macabre mood. "The gossip would be atrocious."

"You talked to those ladies today for way too long. They've corrupted you," he said with a yawn.

"You're so right; I'm one step away from being a pretentious Pureblood princess," she said dryly, eliciting a sleepy laugh from him.

The night settled around them quietly with only their thoughts to keep their minds occupied.

A physical relationship was clearly not the smartest thing they could do, but it really wouldn't hurt anyone if they occasionally had a romp in the sheets.

The only problem was that physical intimacy usually led to the emotional kind, and Hermione, being the kindhearted, compassionate soul she was, would find herself completely shattered if she allowed her heart to get more involved than it already was…

Draco, whose rational side usually triumphed over his emotional side, was completely capable of having a purely physical relationship with a woman. That wasn't the problem, though. The problem was that the woman in question was slowly climbing the barriers he had tried to put around his heart; she had already ingratiated herself into his life, into his son's life and he couldn't even imagine what it would be like when she was gone…

It would be an interesting four months.

* * *

A/N: if you want, you can review each chapter separately, or you can review them both together. Whatever is best for you. :)


	15. Our Games of MakeBelieve Are at an End

Disclaimer: All Harry Potter related characters, places and themes belong to J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury and Scholastic.

A/N: The chapter title comes from the song "Point of No Return" from the Phantom of the Opera. A very happy birthday to Jessie! Hope this chapter is a good b-day present!

* * *

**Chapter 15: Our Games of Make-Believe Are at an End**

* * *

Drifting somewhere between that exquisite state of sleep and that unwelcome state of consciousness, Hermione squirmed between her sheets as sensations she wasn't used to raced through her. Sure, she was sleeping, but there were no images in her head to imply any dreams.

Her eyes slowly blinked open, her mind taking in the sensations around her…

One of those sensations just happened to be in between her legs. Still groggy from sleep, she whined low in her throat at the feeling of a hand touching her slowly… but, it wasn't _her_ hand. Her mind was taking a moment to register things and all of a sudden she felt the heat of a hard body behind her back and soft kisses being placed on the nape of her neck.

She tensed instantly and only relaxed when Draco's voice whispered in her ear. "Easy there, Hermione… it's just me."

"Oh, really? I thought you might have been Donny for a second there," she moaned as she arched into his touch, his finger dipping into her tantalizingly.

"Sarcastic pillow-talk; you really know how to turn a bloke on," he whispered in her ear, causing shivers to vibrate down her spine to the source where his hand massaged her.

"Why… are you doing this?" she panted, her head muddled with sleep and pleasure. Her rational side hadn't woken up yet… it hated mornings.

"Not sure," he mumbled, his other hand slipping under her oversized t-shirt to caress her breast. "We only have the flat to ourselves for a short while, so I seized the opportunity."

He stopped stroking her and she groaned in frustration.

"Patience, _darling_," he laughed as he pulled down her damp underwear. She felt him slide out of his own pyjama pants and she tried to turn around in his arms, but he stopped her, holding her firm with her back against his front.

She felt him moving behind her and then his wand was pointed at her mouth, her heart in her throat as the crazy notion that he might hex her ran through her mind. He cast a silent spell and she felt a tingling in her mouth, her heartbeat slowing when she realized he wasn't going to hex her but was just placing a mouth-cleansing charm on her.

Grabbing her chin with his sticky fingers, he turned her head to kiss her mouth softly, pressing his lips to hers and then slowly licking her lower lip. She opened her mouth to him, tasting his minty breath and laughing softly.

"What?" he asked, with a smile.

"You had to place a mouth-cleansing charm on me before kissing me?" she asked back.

"Can't say I'm a fan of morning breath… even if it's coming out of that sweet, sinful mouth of yours," he whispered against her lips.

With that said he kissed her again, tasting her as deeply as he could while he gripped her thigh and placed it over his own, opening her up to his gratification. From behind, he eased his way into her warm, wet folds and she wrenched her lips away from his, bringing her hand back to clutch his arm tightly.

She was caught off-guard with the feeling of wholeness she felt as he connected with her. Their first time together had been admittedly awkward and rushed, but still, even then she had felt something.

It was tearing her apart… conflicting feelings for a man she didn't like and yet admired at the same time.

Cognitive ability seemed to cease as he thrust into her, hitting spots she hadn't known existed, never having been taken in that position. She tried to hold in her loud sounds of enjoyment, but he would have none of it.

"Scream for me, wife," he muttered in her ear, bringing his hand around to her junction of damp curls to tease her hooded pearl as he thrust harder.

So, she screamed.

He smiled against her neck. "Obedience… never thought I'd ever witness that from you."

"Do me a favor and shut up," she breathed out, turning her head to give him a harsh kiss, biting his upper lip and digging her nails into his hip.

"You shut up," he whispered gruffly.

"No, you."

"Very mature," he said in a low groan. "Now, would you just come for me?"

"Patience, _darling_," she spit back at him, her lips curving and then opening as another strangled scream came out when he pinched her in a particularly over-sensitive region.

Shuddering helplessly she dragged her hand to his head and slightly yanked at his hair as he made the heavens open for her, the fires in hell to cease momentarily, and the world to stop on its axis.

Feeling her clench around his patient erection, Draco finally let go of the nerve-wracking control he had put on himself, following his faux wife into orgasmic bliss.

* * *

Running his fingers down her sweat-covered torso, Draco lazily traced letters against her skin, his head resting next to hers on her pillow as she watched his hand movements and tickled his cheek with her breath.

"Can you believe we've actually had sex?" Hermione asked quietly.

"Sure, why not?"

"I don't know; it's just strange. Think about it… a few months ago, if anyone had told me that I would be lying in bed with Draco Malfoy out of my own free will, then I would have suggested a nice mental health asylum for them."

"It's just sex," he said.

She stayed quiet and wondered if it really was _just_ sex. To her, it was a bit more… she liked waking up with his hands on her, touching her, teasing her, taking her to the place she could only find in the arms of another…

But if it was 'just sex' for him, then she would make it a point not to let him know that she thought of it as more. It might have been easy for him, for any of the male species, to think of intercourse as nothing, as just a means to get off… but it was always something more to her. It was more than lust, more than desire, more than passion, but it wasn't exactly love. All she knew was that it _was_ confusing as hell.

"When did you lose your virginity?" he suddenly asked, his fingers still tracing patterns on her stomach.

"Why do you want to know?"

"Just curious," he shrugged.

"When did you lose yours?" she asked.

"I asked first."

She frowned and then closed her eyes as his fingers lulled her into a serene rest. "I was fifteen."

"So, fifth year," he said.

"No. Fourth year," she corrected quietly.

His hand stilled, but she kept her eyes closed. "You had sex in our fourth year?"

"I was fifteen," she repeated. "I was born in September, so I'm older than most of the people in our year."

His fingers moved again, circling her belly button. "Was it Weasley?" he asked.

"I've never slept with Ron," she said firmly. "We've always been friends. I admit we might have had passing fancies for each other in our sixth year, but that eventually waned over."

"Potter, then?"

"No, and I don't think I want to answer this question," she said, opening her eyes to turn and look at him.

He smiled slightly. "Well, now that you've said that, I _have_ to know."

She shook her head at him. "It's none of your business."

"Oh, come on. Tell me," he insisted, raising his fingers to her neck and tracing the lines of her collarbone softly. "Please?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," she said, suddenly feeling uncomfortable with the delicate nature of his caress. He was toying with her emotions.

"Try me."

She waited a few seconds, taking a deep breath to still her suddenly frazzled nerves. She wasn't expecting Draco's other hand to reach for her own to weave his fingers with hers. "It was Cedric Diggory."

"You lost your virginity to Diggory?" he asked, his voice suspiciously gruff.

"Yes."

"Diggory? The dead Triwizard champ?"

"Well, he wasn't dead at the time," she replied hotly.

"How on earth did you end up sleeping with Diggory?" he asked, flabbergasted.

She clucked her tongue in annoyance and rolled her eyes. "It just happened. I was in the library studying late one night and he was researching for his next task in the tournament. I happened to be using one of the books he needed, so he asked for it and we just started talking."

"Weren't you all cozy-cozy with Krum in our fourth year?" he asked.

"You can't seem to grasp the concept of me just having male friends, can you?" she asked shortly.

"Don't be snappy with me," he drawled.

She rolled her eyes again. "I slept with Cedric, yes. We ended up talking the entire night that night, realizing we had much in common. He was a very sweet and kind boy and I don't regret what we did."

"Well, that's surprising. I never thought of you as a 'one-night stand' type of girl," he murmured.

"I never thought of myself as a 'marry a man I hate' type of girl, either," she shot back.

He just smiled at her and leaned over to kiss her cheek. "You're obviously not a morning person."

She scowled at him and moved to get out of his grasp, but he held her tighter and laughed when she started to wriggle against him in the attempt to leave the bed.

"You keep squirming and we'll just stay in this bed longer than I had planned," he whispered in her ear.

A sudden loud knocking at the front door sounded and they looked at each other, wondering who would be knocking so early in the morning. Just in case it was the DMP, Hermione took out her wand and fused their beds together, mussing up the covers and pillows, although the illusion didn't really need to be altered much.

Draco pulled on his boxers and pants, grabbing a clean shirt from his wardrobe. While Hermione put on some clothes, he went out to answer the door.

As soon as the door was open, Donny pushed past him and looked around the flat. "Where is she? Is she alright? I can't believe I just let you two leave without telling me what was going on! I've been worried sick and I didn't sleep all night and… where is she, Draco?"

Donny stood in the living room, her hair a complete mess, pulled back with a frayed ribbon; she wore sweat pants and a t-shirt that had seemed to have lost a fight with a gallon of bleach and a horde of moths; and her eyes were bloodshot.

"Where have you been all night, Donny?" Draco asked, leading her by the arm to the kitchen to get her a cup of tea.

"I've been worrying my bum off!" she said. "Hermione was attacked and I just let her go home with you without even finding out what happened. I couldn't sleep, Draco! The guilt and the worry were eating me alive."

He sat her down at the table and the minute he put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, she burst into tears.

_Someone forgot to take their anti-PMS potion this morning._

"Er, Donny? Uh… Hermione's fine," he said, wondering when his wife was going to finally come and relieve him of comforting her friend.

"I'm supposed to be her friend! But, I just left the party and did as the two of you told me to when I should have insisted you tell me what was going on," she cried. "Plus, on my way home, I ran into Jimmy and he's engaged! Engaged, Draco! I can't even find a boyfriend and that stupid wanker is engaged!"

_Who in the hell is Jimmy? AND WHERE THE HELL IS HERMIONE?_

"Donny?" Hermione's voice finally said, coming from the doorway of the kitchen. "Don, what's wrong?"

Draco slowly backed away from the kitchen, leaving the two females to themselves as Donny started speaking in that high-pitched sobby voice only dogs, and apparently Hermione, could hear. He gestured to Hermione that he was going to go pick up Zane, and he left before he was dragged into anything he didn't want to be a part of.

* * *

"And then we played monsters and then we played outside and we made a hundred sand castles and then Auntie Tonks made us some dinner and it was yummy and then Uncle Remus played with us and he made our toys bigger with his wand!" Zane chatted happily to his father as they walked home from the Lupin residence.

"Sounds like you had fun, Z," Draco replied, squeezing his son's hand.

"I did, daddy! But I missed you and mummy."

"We missed you, too, mate," he smiled.

They made it home to find Hermione in the living room, reading a book and twirling a stray curl around her finger.

"Mummy!" Zane cried out, rushing into her lap and hugging her tight. "I missed you!"

She kissed his face and wrapped her arms around him. "I missed you, too, sweetheart. Did you have fun with Wolf?"

"Yes!" he replied.

Hermione looked over at Draco, sitting across from them in the armchair. "Your mother invited us to lunch today. She's angry with us for leaving so abruptly yesterday without saying goodbye."

He rolled his eyes. "What time?"

"In half an hour," she replied.

"Are we going to Gamma's?" Zane asked. "I wanna tell her about my sleepover with Wolf!"

"Yes, and she'll be so excited to hear all you've got to say," Hermione told him. "Why don't you go put your bag in your room and change into clean clothes?"

He nodded quickly and jumped off the couch, leaving Draco and Hermione alone in the living room.

"So, what happened with Donny?" Draco asked once Zane left.

"She was having a bad day not having had any sleep last night and worrying herself sick over what had happened. I assured her that I was fine and that I wasn't hurt. She also ran into her ex-boyfriend yesterday, the man she caught sleeping with her neighbor. It seems he's getting married and Donny's been kind of down lately with everyone around her getting married."

"Is she still hung up on that Wood bloke?"

Hermione smiled. "Yeah. She's always been a bit eccentric and her Oliver Wood obsession vents her frustration on not finding a boyfriend. I'm actually starting to feel really bad for her. She's such a wonderful girl and yet she can't seem to find one decent man to love her just the way she is. I was thinking of doing something special for her since her birthday is coming up next week. I just can't think of anything."

"I'm sure you'll think of something," he said.

"I hope so. I'm not very creative when it comes to giving gifts and I really want to cheer her up," she mused out loud. "If worse comes to worst, I guess I can just take her out to dinner and buy her some jewelry."

"You're right, you're not very creative," he teased, getting a throw-pillow flung at him in response.

"Me and Wolf had a pillow fight, too!" Zane announced as he walked in to the living room, watching his poor father get smacked with a pillow. "I winned the pillow fight because Malfoys never lose!"

Hermione snorted and shook her head. "Everybody loses at some point, Zane."

"Nuh uh. Not Malfoys. Daddy told me that we never, ever, ever lose! We are always the winners," he explained.

"Well, it seems Daddy forgot to tell you about the times he lost Quidditch matches in school," she said, trying to incorporate a sense of reality in the disillusioned child.

Zane turned a horror-stricken look at his father, who was glaring at his wife. "You losted Kidditch games, daddy?"

Draco spoke through clenched teeth. "Once or twice, yes."

Hermione snorted again at his understatement. She mumbled something under her breath that sounded a lot like 'more like once or twice a year.'

"But it's ok, daddy," Zane assured him. "Wolf winned when we played racing and when we played jumping jump."

The three of them left the house soon after, listening to Zane explain the intricate, nonsensical rules of 'jumping jump.' They arrived at the Malfoy manor after apparating there from an official Apparition location near their flat.

Narcissa greeted them with her usual brilliant smile and Lucius, of course, greeted them with his subtle sneer, only giving Zane a small wink of acknowledgement.

Lunch was served in the dining hall of the manor, the five of them seated around the shrunken grand table for a more intimate setting. Zane talked extensively to his grandparents, telling them every single thing that had happened since he had last seen them.

Taking a sip of his pumpkin juice from the plastic, spill-proof cup, he was just about to finish telling his grandmother about the adventure he had had with Rosie and an abandoned box when he suddenly gasped and pointed at Hermione.

"Oh, no!" he said, his eyes wide as he stared at her. "You have an ouchie on your neck, mummy! Are you ok?"

The three other adults turned to look as Hermione reached up to her neck with a confused look on her face. "I don't have an ouchie, Zane."

"Yeah, you do," he insisted.

"He seems to be right, dear," Narcissa said.

Hermione picked up one of the spoons laid out in front of her and turned it over to look at her neck, not caring how improper using the silverware in that manner was.

Lucius snorted inelegantly into his champagne. "Why, Narcissa, your naiveté astounds me."

"My naiveté? What are you talking about, Lu— oh, dear heavens," she gasped.

The minute Narcissa had spoken Hermione dropped the spoon with a clatter to the table, shooting Draco a dark look as she saw in the reflection the hickey he had given her.

His eyes were wide, hinting at the power it was taking him not to laugh.

"Do you need Daddy to kiss your ouchie?" Zane asked.

Lucius snorted again. "I do believe that's what caused the ouchie in the first place."

"Lucius!" Narcissa admonished.

"Huh?" Zane asked.

"Nothing, Z," Draco said, his head down as his shoulders shook with mirth.

Hermione's cheeks flamed as she propped her elbow on the table and rested her face in her hand. "It's ok, Zane. I don't have an ouchie. I accidentally colored on myself with your coloring quills."

"Oh. That's silly, mummy," he laughed, taking a bite of his food. "You're always so silly. Like a silly-billy."

As he laughed to himself, his rhyming pretty much being the funniest thing he'd thought of, he didn't seem to notice the tension and inquisitive glances taking place between the adults.

Narcissa was the first to break through the awkward silence and her grandson's giggles. "So, Draco, you didn't tell me exactly why you left so suddenly yesterday."

"Hermione and I had a prior engagement," he mumbled.

Lucius rolled his eyes and smirked. "Is that what you young people are calling it these days?"

"If you can't behave yourself, Lucius, you can go eat in the kitchen," Narcissa said sharply.

"Uh oh, Gampa got in trouble," Zane snickered. "Are you going to spank him, Gamma?"

"That would be delightful," Lucius said before Narcissa had a chance to say anything.

"Really, Lucius!" she practically screamed.

Draco laughed into his napkin as Hermione hid her own smile behind her hand. As long as the attention was off of them, then they could find humor in the situation. Zane shook his head in confusion. All the adults were so silly.

"You'll have to excuse my husband. He forgets his age," Narcissa said angrily. "Now, did you at least enjoy yourselves at the Soiree? I know Donatella ran off soon after the two of you left. The poor girl seemed distressed for some reason."

"She's been having a tough week," Hermione half-lied.

"Oh, poor dear. You know, I know that she's single, so I was thinking maybe to introduce her to some single male acquaintances of mine. Do you think she would like that?"

"I'm not sure; who do you have in mind?" Hermione asked.

"Well, I know Desdemona Reid's son, Victor, is single."

"No!" Draco said violently. When they all gave him surprised looks, he took a calming breath and smiled. "I mean, no, I don't think the two of them would be compatible. She spoke with him at the Soiree and they didn't get along."

Narcissa nodded sadly. "Well, I'm sure we'll find someone for her. I absolutely adore her to bits."

After the conversation dwindled, Narcissa took Hermione into the sitting room while the menfolk were served brandy, talking about Quidditch and the Ministry and other male interests. Zane sped off to find his favorite house-elf, Sunshine Banana, to play a game of hide-and-seek.

Hermione sat down across from her mother-in-law and smiled politely while the older woman looked at her. "Are you having an extra-marital affair?" Narcissa asked without preamble.

Suppressing the urge to drop her jaw, Hermione shook her head. "No, Narcissa, I'm not cheating on Draco."

"Then, tell me, how on earth did you get that love-bite… and don't lie to me, because I'm not _that_ naïve."

Hermione worried her lower lip between her teeth, unsure of what to say. Realizing that Narcissa was really the only one she could talk to about the situation, she expelled a pent-up breath and closed her eyes. "Draco and I had sex."

"I see," Narcissa replied, tapping her fingers against her chin. "How long have you two been sharing a bed?"

"Well, you see, we haven't exactly been sharing a bed, we just sort of had sex last night… and then this morning."

Narcissa nodded and tapped her finger faster, a nervous habit of hers. "I thought the two of you disliked each other."

"We do. Our personalities are so divergent that we fight more than we do anything else," she said. "But, then, we've been getting along for Zane's sake and because two people can't really live together and hate each other for so long. Compromises have been made and we do realize our faults eventually."

"So, do you think that you might have feelings for him?"

Hermione shook her head, but then shrugged. "I don't think so. I mean, I don't know… it's all a bit confusing."

Narcissa smiled sympathetically. "It is very difficult to separate sex and emotions. Lucius was my first and my only. He courted me for nearly a month and I was very wary of him, not quite sure if I could ever live happily with the notorious Lucius Malfoy… but our first time together proved that I could find a semblance of affection in a match with him. Despite his outward nature, he's a very affectionate soul and I did indeed find love with him, combining our bedroom activity with everything else."

Hermione found herself nodding along, understanding exactly what Narcissa was saying.

"I can't afford to have feelings for Draco," she said after a while.

"Why not?"

"What we have going on right now is a business arrangement and nothing else. He doesn't have any feelings for me and it would be much easier for me to not have any for him. We would make a terrible real couple because we truly do not get along. We're like two negative magnetic poles, opposing each other in almost everything."

Draco and Lucius walked into the sitting room, interrupting any response Narcissa could have made.

"Are you ready to leave?" Draco asked Hermione.

She nodded and rose with Narcissa, exchanging a meaningful glance with the older witch that clearly said that none of what they had said was to be repeated to anyone.

Zane raced his way into the room, giggling as the out-of-breath house-elf chased him and finally tagged her young master with a victory squeal of 'Tag!' Zane burst into laughs at being caught and hugged the house-elf tight before kissing her on the head and running into his father's arms.

"Goodbye, Master Zane!" Sunshine Banana squeaked before bowing out of the sitting room and scurrying off to finish her chores.

Hermione saw Lucius hide a disapproving look and then smile lightly as his wife slipped her arm through his. Narcissa had been right. They did love each other immensely.

Saying scattered farewells, the younger generation left the Malfoy manor and made their way back home. An exhausted Zane fell asleep on the way, taking his nap later than usual. Once back at the flat, Draco put his son in his room, watching him sleep for a moment before going out to the kitchen where Hermione was putting away the clean dishes.

He offered to help her and she smiled kindly at him, handing him a stack of plates and cups. As he put them away, she turned to look at him. "I told your mother about us sleeping together."

"I know," he said with his back to her. "Once she saw the hickey, I knew she wouldn't rest until she heard the story behind it. She's a wonderful woman, but terribly nosy."

Hermione laughed quietly at the true statement. "You still don't think this is a bad idea?"

"What? Us having sex?" he asked, walking towards her.

She nodded and took a step back, only to find she was already up against the counter.

His smile was feral as he approached her, his silver eyes glinting with mischief. He finally stood in front of her, his hands gripping the counter behind her as she tried not to completely melt at the touch of his body against hers.

She watches him bend his head and kiss her jaw, trailing his lips to her cheek. The path his lips left burned her skin and made her knees tremble with the gentleness of his mouth. As he moved to her exposed neck, she bit back a moan as he licked the spot where she knew his love-bite rested. He moved his lips to the other side of her neck and kissed a similar path to her cheek.

Draco pulled back slightly and watched the flush of color rise in Hermione's cheeks, crawling up from her neck. Smiling wider, he nuzzled her cheek, smelling her sweet scent. He wrapped an arm around her waist, his other hand still gripping the counter as he bent his head to kiss her lips.

She whimpered against his lips as he kissed her with a soft delicate stroke, inflaming her desire and making her breasts heavy with the need to be touched and fondled.

Suddenly, he drew his lips away from hers and stepped away, walking to the kitchen door. "No, I don't think it's a bad idea," he said with a slight smile as he turned and left.

Grabbing the counter for support, Hermione narrowed her eyes at the empty doorway, vexed and impressed by Draco's manipulative tactics. It would take all of the control she had to stay away from him emotionally. Physically, well, they had barely experienced how explosive 'physical' could be between them.

* * *

Three days before Donny's birthday, Hermione sat on the bed she now shared with Draco. They had permanently merged the two beds, knowing that keeping them apart was clearly not necessary anymore. Flipping through a magazine, she looked for anything that could give her inspiration on what to give her friend for her birthday.

At work, Donny had been growing even more miserable than Hermione had ever seen her, going through a melancholic, self-pitying time. More than anything, Hermione wanted to cheer up her dearest friend, asking everyone around her for suggestions, yet nobody had any good ideas.

Draco walked into the room to find Hermione hunched over the magazine, biting her lip and sighing in frustration.

"What are you doing?" he asked as he changed into his pyjamas.

"I can't find anything to get Donny for her birthday. She's been so sad lately and I would do anything to cheer her up. She deserves something wonderful and I'm such a horrid friend that I can't think of anything," she said angrily.

"The fact that you're trying shows that you're a good friend," he offered, climbing into the bed beside her.

She sighed and shrugged. "It's pointless. I'm not creative and I'm not going to think of anything. I'll just go get her a gift certificate tomorrow and let her choose where she wants to spend it."

He smiled and tugged the magazine out of her hands. "It's time to sleep."

She looked at him and saw the look in his eyes that said sleep was definitely not on their agenda for the immediate future.

Once his lips found hers, her frustrations slowly ebbed away, turning into a carnal hunger. They complemented each other in bed, matching each other stroke for stroke, thrust for thrust, lick for lick…

Gasping for breath once they had reached their sexual pinnacles, Hermione smiled in complete triumph at her ability to separate her emotions and sex this time. She was working hard to keep them apart and she was proud of herself for not thinking once about her feelings while Draco pleasured her in the most animal way possible.

* * *

Unfortunately, that control completely shattered the next morning when she awoke to an empty bed. She heard Draco in the shower as she stretched her arms above her head and yawned deeply.

She turned her head when a piece of parchment on the bed caught her eye. She rubbed her eyes and reached out to pick up the envelope resting on Draco's pillow. On the outside of the envelope, she recognized Draco's handwriting. It simply said: _Don't' doubt yourself again; _y_ou're a wonderful friend and I think you'll know what to do with these._

She furrowed her brows in confusion and turned the envelope and looked inside. She pulled out what was inside and when she realized what they were, her hand flew to her gaping mouth and her eyes filled with tears.

Clutched in her hand were four tickets to the highly anticipated Puddlemere United vs. Falmouth Falcons game that coming Saturday. The game had been sold out since the lineup had been announced and she knew they must have cost a fortune.

The part that made Hermione lose the control over her feelings wasn't the tickets, but the four slips of paper attached to the tickets. The slips of paper were the VIP admittance granting the holder of the ticket locker-room access of the team of their choice before and after the game, plus a private dinner with the team, should they win.

She let her tears fall as she realized that she was married to the most infuriatingly amazing man on the planet.

* * *

A/N: Thanks to all the reviewers!... and before anyone mentions it, I didn't forget to add Draco's answer to their virginity talk. It'll come up again.

I think a few of you might have missed the fact that I uploaded TWO chapters last time. My chapter stats show that chapter thirteen has only half as many hits as chapter fourteen, so I totally screwed up by posting two chaps at the same time. My bad.

If any of you guys want, the voting will be over soon at Quill to Parchment and the Dramione awards! I'm nominated for two categories at both sites, so votes would be greatly appreciated!! I thank the people who nominated me a million times over!


	16. They Don't Know How Real Love Feels

Disclaimer: All Harry Potter related characters, places and themes belong to J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury and Scholastic.

A/N: I'm so, so, so, so, so, so sorry! I will never take this long to update again! The title chapter comes from the song, "Baby, It's Fact" by Hellogoodbye.

* * *

Chapter 16: They Don't Know How Real Love Feels

* * *

Hermione waited until Draco had come out of the shower, his towel wrapped around his waist, before she launched herself at him, throwing her arms around his neck and burying her face in his wet and warm neck.

He stumbled for a moment and caught his balance as he grasped her shoulders. "What on earth…"

She pulled away and grabbed his face, planting her lips on his firmly and kissing him as if the act itself was about to go out of style.

If he was surprised he didn't show it as he kissed her back with the same fervor she was lavishing on him. Somewhere in the corner of his mind, he was trying to figure out why she was kissing him… but being of the single-minded male variety, he decided he didn't care.

"You're getting all wet," he remembered to murmur as they took a breath.

"I don't care," she said with a wide grin, throwing her arms around him again. "Thank you so much, Draco."

"For what?" he asked, unwrapping her arms from around his neck.

"For not being incorrigible for once," she replied evenly. "I can't thank you enough for the Quidditch tickets, Draco."

"Oh," he said quietly and walked to the dresser to pick out some underclothes. "Think nothing of it."

"How on earth did you manage to get tickets? Wait, I can't let you pay for them… they must have cost a fortune and…"

"I told you, think nothing of it," he replied, pulling on his boxers and a white shirt. "I designed a house for one of my mates on the Falcons team and he pulled a few strings for me."

"Can't I repay you for them?" she asked.

He turned a serious look at her and shook his head. "What part of 'think nothing of it' have you not understood thus far?"

She smiled at him, not caring that he was getting testy with her. "Thank you, again. It was a very sweet gesture. Donny is going to be thrilled."



"Don't you have to get ready for school?" he asked, his back turned to her as he finished getting dressed.

"Yes, and I'll go wake Zane," she said as she left the room, leaving Draco with his contemplations.

He sighed as he started buttoning his shirt. His thoughts for the past few days had been overwhelming to the point of annoyance. He was immensely enjoying the physical aspect of his relationship with Hermione. Hell, he'd been abstinent for so long that he was almost sure he'd forgotten how to have sex.

Thankfully, he still knew how.

Knotting the tie around his neck, he ran a pale finger down a fairly recent mark on his neck given to him by Hermione two nights before when she had used her lips to torture him to the brink of erotic madness… he smiled at the memory of her brazen side in their shared bed. He wouldn't lie to himself: Hermione was a fantastic lover. She applied the same determination and expertise in bed as she did everything else. He was a lucky bastard.

He closed his eyes, shaking his head in exasperation. Every night after they explored each other's bodies, they would lie quietly next to each other, touching, caressing, whispering words to each other… it was sickeningly romantic.

They fought less these days. They fought, yes, but less.

He knew why they were fighting less and he also knew why he looked forward to coming home from work every day. He was starting to like her, as if he were some teenage boy crushing on his first girl. It made him nauseous thinking about how Hermione had finally gotten under his skin, sparring with him in intellectual conversations, sparring with him physically as they made love at every opportunity.

She was smart, she was compassionate and she was kindhearted towards his son; she took care of them like a mother-hen watching over her chicks and her sharp wit brought laughter back into his previously dull life.

He knew he was heading for dangerous waters as he let her burrow herself deeper into his life, but for once, he felt as if maybe he could be happy for once… that maybe he could come to actually love someone and have them love him in return. Wouldn't that be nice?

But, it was all futile thinking… Hermione couldn't come to love him. He was only the boy who had effectively made her childhood a living hell and a real relationship between them was completely preposterous. They had hated each other for so long that no amount of time together or sex or intimacy could make the past change, could make her love him unconditionally.

With another sigh he smiled ruefully and ran his hand through his hair. The six months were halfway over and in three months, they would divorce and move on with their lives. Their sham of a marriage would just be a bittersweet memory for them both.

* * *



Hermione listened intently as Zane finished the story of his crazy dream right as they reached the door to the school. He was stumbling over his words as he tried to tell her about the grand adventure of his nighttime conscious.

"Isn't that so silly, Mummy? I wasn't wearing any underwears!" he giggled loudly as his backpack bumped along the back of his knees. "But, I waked up and I was wearing all of my clothes!"

She smiled down at him and squeezed his hand. "That is such a silly dream, sweetheart. Can you just imagine walking around with no pants on?"

He laughed harder, shaking his head at her. "That would be 'idiculous!"

As they walked into the front office of the school's small structure, Hermione helped him take off his backpack and jumper, hanging them on the row of hooks. As usual, they were the first ones at the school and, as usual, Zane ran off to the classroom to draw on the chalkboard before the other students arrived.

Hermione unlocked her office door and put away her things, pulling out a stack of parchment and quills to start the itinerary for the day. Just as she was finishing up her writing, Donny walked through the door and gave her a small smile.

"Good morning, Hermione," she said quietly.

"Good morning, Don," Hermione replied. "You look especially lovely this morning."

"Do I?"

"Oh, yes, and I do believe it's because you are celebrating a most wondrous twenty-third birthday," she said with a laugh.

"Oh, God, I'm getting old," Donny laughed. "Ancient!"

"Ancient? How is that supposed to make me feel at the prehistoric age of twenty-four?"

"Well, you're already a wife and mother! I've got nothing under my belt except a messy flat covered in pictures of a half-naked Quidditch player who would probably die laughing if he ever knew I existed," she said despondently.

"Did you know that Puddlemere is going to be here this weekend?" Hermione asked, unable to hide her growing grin.

Donny slumped in the chair in front of Hermione's desk, propping her legs up on the table and leaning back. "Yeah, they're playing the Falcons. It's the European championship. Can you imagine? Oliver Freakin' Wood in the same city as me."

"Wouldn't it be wonderful if he was in the same room as you?"

"Don't tease me, love. I don't think my poor heart can take it," she chuckled softly.

"Can I give you your birthday present now or do you want to wait for dinner tonight?"

Donny put a finger to her chin and thought for a moment. "I guess I could open it now, although I specifically asked you not to get me anything."

"And I specifically told you that you're an idiot for thinking I wouldn't do something for your birthday," she teased.

"Ok, fine. Give it to me," she replied with a melodramatic sigh.

Hermione handed her the envelope that was now adorned with a red ribbon. "I hope you like it."

Donny smiled brightly, the first smile Hermione had seen in a long while, as she opened the envelope. "Let's see what my favorite gal got me for my birthday… what's this?"

Silence immersed the room as Donny's jaw dropped and her hands started to shake. Hermione watched as her friend stared at the tickets in glorious amazement, tears pooling behind her eyes. "Happy birthday from Draco and me."

Jaw still hung in shock, Donny sputtered for a few seconds before shaking her head, unable to speak at all.

"The VIP passes will let you in to the locker room before and after the game and also allows you to attend the Champion's Dinner if your chosen team wins the game," Hermione explained.

More silence was Donny's response as she blinked rapidly, her smile growing wider and wider. "Hermione, I… I… what… I… OH, MY GOD! You are the most incredible human being in the entire universe! Oh, my god; oh, my god; oh, my god."

"So, do you like it?" Hermione asked, laughing quietly to herself as she watched Donny read through the tickets more slowly.

"I can't believe it," she said in a whisper. "Thank you so much, Hermione. I don't even think I deserve these…"

"You most definitely _do_ deserve them, Donny. Now, what are you going to wear when you finally meet Oliver Wood?"

"OH, DEAR GOD! I'M GOING TO MEET OLIVER WOOD!" Donny suddenly squealed, jumping out of her chair and running to the other side of the desk where she engulfed Hermione in a crushing hug. "I love you so much, Hermione! You don't even know!"

Hermione laughed into her friend's shoulder. "I love you, too, Don. I'm glad you liked the gift. I have to tell you, though; it was all Draco's idea."

"If you weren't married to him and I wasn't about to go meet my future lover, I would most definitely propose marriage to Draco for his brilliance," Donny laughed.

Hermione felt her smile falter at that thought. She almost brought up her breakfast as she realized she was feeling the first sting of the green-eyed monster, jealousy. If the mere thought of a hypothetical arrangement between Donny and Draco made her feel like that… _Shit, shit, shit, shit! I'm pathetic._

"Well, now you know that I have to play hard-to-get when I meet Woodie. It's basic flirtation 101. I have to act completely disinterested no matter how much I want to pounce on him and shag him into oblivion…" Donny was speaking rapidly as Hermione shook her head in laughter.

A small knock at the door sounded and she waited while Zane poked his head into the room and gave her a tenuous smile. "Mummy, I had a accident. A accident in the room!"

She exchanged a startled look with Donny before standing up swiftly and walking over to Zane and putting her hands on his shoulders and face, making sure he was unharmed. "Are you ok, sweetheart?"

"Yep! I'm ok, mummy. I did that thing again when I thinked really hard and I made the blackboard turn another color! It's green like Rosie!" he said without taking a breath.

"Oh, you did magic?" Hermione asked, relief pulsing through her.

He nodded slowly. "I just thinked really hard about it and it happened!"

"It's alright, Zane, don't worry yourself about it. I can change it back and as long as no one was hurt, then everything is fine. Now, why don't you help me set up for the class and we can practice our controlling exercises, ok?"

He nodded again and clasped her hand as she led him out of the room while Donny followed them.

"Hey, Zane," Donny said, walking alongside him as they neared the classroom. "Would you like to go see a Quidditch game and meet the players?"

His grey eyes quickly lit up as he looked at Donny. "A Kidditch game? Yes, I wanna go!"

"Well, you and your mummy and your daddy and I are going to go see a very big Quidditch game this Saturday," she said excitedly. "That is, if your mummy and daddy aren't busy."

"Are you sure you want to take us?" Hermione asked as she walked over to the newly colored chalkboard and changed it back to black.

"Of course I'm sure," she replied with a snort. "As if I would take anyone else."

"Well, I'll make sure we're not doing anything and we'd be happy to go," Hermione said. _I don't think I'd want to miss Donny meeting Oliver Wood for the world._

* * *



The night before the big game, Hermione sat in the kitchen cleaning out the pantry as she waited for the rack of lamb to roast in the oven. She could hear Draco coming in through the front door and she could also hear Zane and Wolf playing in Zane's bedroom.

Draco walked by the kitchen and announced his presence before moving on to the bedroom to change out of his work clothes. She called out a hello and went back to organizing the pantry. Seconds later she heard him laughing hard as he called her name.

She put down the bag of rice she had just been about to stow away and walked over to their bedroom where she found Draco leaning against the doorframe between their room and their bathroom, holding his side in mirth.

"I think you should see this," he said in between laughs.

She walked over to the doorway and her jaw dropped when she saw what was making Draco laugh so hard.

Zane and Wolf sat on the floor of the master bathroom surrounded by many, many tampons. The cabinet beneath the sink lay wide open and a trail of opened tampons lay scattered from the sink to the bathtub, surrounding the young boys in every direction.

"Look, mummy! We found some swords and some wands for Rosie and Jasper to play with!" Wolf had named his stuffed dragon Jasper.

"Jasper is using a wand and Rosie is using a sword!" Wolf exclaimed happily, clutching four tampons in his hand and waving them around.

Draco burst out into more laughter. Hermione brought her hand up to her head and placed two fingers at her temple.

"We put some in the water and they got very bigger!" Zane explained, pointing to the toilet where several inflated tampons floated.

"Oh, dear heavens," Hermione murmured, closing her eyes for an extended amount of time and taking a few calming breaths. Draco had yet to stop laughing, crouching on the floor after seeing the tampons in the toilet. "Zane, Wolf, can you please drop everything and go to your room?"

The two boys stood up warily, grabbing their stuffed animals and frowning. "Did we do something bad, mummy?"

"I'll come speak with you in your room. Right now, just head over there so I can clean up," she said calmly, moving out of the doorway so that they could leave.

They looked at each other and then at Draco who was wiping his eyes and rubbing his side, random chuckles being emitted every few seconds. They left the bathroom and Hermione let out a long breath.

"Don't say a word," she warned Draco, pulling out her wand and returning the unused tampons back to the box and the misused tampons into the rubbish bin.

His eyes sparkled with suppressed laughter and his lips were curved into a wicked smile. She felt her own lips curl into a traitorous smile as she looked at him. "It's not funny!"

With that said, he laughed again. "If it's not funny, then why are you smiling?"

"Oh, just shut up!" she said. "Since you find this so funny, you can be the one to explain to them why they are in trouble."

He shook his head, his smile slowly disappearing. "No, I don't think that's something I really want to do."

"Well, that's too bad."

"I'll take you out to dinner," he tried bargaining.

"Nope."

"I'll make the bed from now on."

"You wouldn't know how to make the bed even if I put you under the_ imperius_ curse and did it for you," she replied.

"Fine! I'll talk to them!" he huffed, turning on his heel and walking to his son's room. Hermione followed him and stood at the doorway as Draco crouched in front of his son's bed where the two boys were sitting.

"Boys, now, I want you to listen up and listen carefully," he started, looking annoyed. "You two are not supposed to go into the adult's bedroom and the bathroom. You did not have permission to be in there and you played with something that didn't belong to you."

"I thought they were toys," Zane explained, looking confused and sad. "I'm sorry I played with 'em."

"Me too," Wolf added, nodding in agreement.

"Well, they weren't toys and they did not belong to you."

"What were they?" Zane asked.

Hermione smiled smugly as Draco blanched and turned a furious look at her.

"They were, uh… they were something that belonged to your mummy and you shouldn't have touched them," he said.

"Oh," came the boys' replies.

"Five minutes in separate corners," Draco said. "Don't let us catching you playing in places you shouldn't be playing in and playing with things you shouldn't touch, ok?"

They nodded and then slumped off into two opposite corners of the bedroom. They were both used to the routine by now.

Giving her a pointed look, Draco left the room and walked back to their bedroom, waiting for her to following him. She was a few steps behind him and entered the room as he was shrugging his shirt off and searching for a clean one. She couldn't help but allow her gaze to roam over his lovely, pale, defined torso that she had touched all over…

"Can you hide those things better next time?" he asked, breaking into her suddenly lustful thoughts. "Heaven knows I don't need Nymphadora or Lupin chewing my head off for exposing Wolf to things he shouldn't know about."

"Oh, yes, this is all _my_ fault," Hermione replied dryly. "If only I had hidden them better, then they would have never rummaged through any of our things and found them. You and I both know that they have the scavenging tendencies of nifflers and would find anything we hide, so let's not play the blame-game right now, because I'm really not in the mood."

She took a step back once she realized Draco had moved closer to her and was standing just a breath away, smirking down at her as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

He shrugged and leaned down to kiss her lips softly, leaving her dazed and quite flustered. His lips were always so soft and warm. _Damn him and those lips._

"You look quite tasty when you go off on a rant. Your cheeks turn pink and your nostrils flare and you just seem… kissable," he explained.

"Ok," she said slowly, quirking an eyebrow up at him, "you're acting strange."

"Strange?" he asked with a heart-stopping smile. "How so?"

"You're acting… romantic," she said.

"Romance doesn't suit me?" he inquired, raising an eyebrow and smiling even wider. He moved closer and nuzzled her cheek with his nose, letting his lips linger along her jaw line. "You're right; romance doesn't work well for me. I'd rather just pounce on you and ravish you."

She threw her head back and laughed, exposing her neck to his roaming lips. Soon, all thoughts of laughter fled her mind as Draco pulled her close, running his strong hands up and down her back as he worshipped her neck with his oral attention. A tiny whimper escaped her lips as she felt her knees weaken and her heartbeat race an erratic tempo.

"Draco…" she whispered gutturally as her fingers clutched his shoulders in desperate control.

He smiled against her neck and brought his hands down to her hips to hold her even closer. He was just about to run his fingers to the button of her jeans when a sharp tap sounded from the window of their bedroom.

He cursed under his breath as he let go of the warm, supple, female body against his. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Hermione adjust her shirt and fan herself before sitting on the bed in a flustered heap.

Opening the window to a Ministry owl, Draco slipped the brown bird a treat as he wrestled the parchment from it. He unfurled the parchment and let the bird out as he walked to the bed where Hermione sat, his eyes darting back and forth across the letter.

"What is it?" she asked, crossing her legs and placing her elbows on her knees.

"It's a reminder that we have to schedule an interview for Zane with our DMP. We have until next Friday to schedule it," he said, looking up from the parchment. "I have meetings with new clients all next week. I won't be coming home until late."

Hermione shook her head and took the parchment from his hand. "Don't worry about it. The Ministry closes at six in any case and I would have had to take Zane. It's no problem."

"Thank you," he said quietly, lying back on the bed with his hands behind his head. He stayed silent for a moment, his eyes closed. "I just wish this was all over. I hate being in this limbo where I have no idea how my fate with my son will turn out."

He reached a hand up and pulled Hermione down next to him, wrapping an arm around her shoulders once she was lying next to him.

She stayed quiet and nestled closer to him, burying her face in his chest. She put her arm over his waist and just hugged him, not knowing what to say. One thought did cross her mind… if he wished all this to be over so quickly, did he also wish for their marriage to be over just as quickly?

For once, Hermione had found herself in a real relationship where she enjoyed almost every waking moment with her new family. Taking care of her two rowdy boys, as she had begun thinking of Draco and Zane, brought newfound meaning to her life. She had a purpose and she was depended on and she was relishing in the feeling.

Sleeping with Draco was an added bonus and she had never felt closer to anyone before. After Hogwarts, she had gone on a few dates with men that various friends had set her up with and yet she had never connected with any of them beyond just those few dates. Hell, she hadn't slept with any of them and Draco had only been her second lover since losing her virginity.

She had no clue as to whether Draco felt anything for her beyond just the physical aspect of their relationship. She knew she _did_ feel something for him. It was difficult not to care for him when he was gentle with her and with Zane and when he brought her heart-stopping pleasure almost every night. As long as she didn't admit her feelings out loud, then the pain of being discarded after the six months was over wouldn't be too harsh. Or so she hoped…

* * *

Draco awoke to a loud banging noise at the front door and he let out a string of curses as he slowly got out of bed and left the warmth Hermione's body had provided.

_It's a fucking Saturday! Who the hell is at the goddamn door this early?_

Having reached his cursing quota for the morning, Draco opened the door and was instantly bombarded with a loud shriek and a petite bundle of light blue.

"It's today! It's today! It's today!" the creature that had wrapped its arms around his neck squealed.

Draco groaned and tried prying Donny's arms away from him as he stumbled back from her attack. She weighed little more than nothing and yet she had nearly caused him to fall on his behind in her excitement.

"Donny… can't breathe," he gasped as he struggled with her steel-like grip.

"Oh, sorry, mate," she laughed, jumping away from him and then proceeding to bounce in place. "Why aren't you dressed yet?"

He scowled at her and stifled a yawn. "Because it's seven-thirty in the morning."

"I know! The game starts in seven and a half hours!" she said with a big smile. "Is Hermione up yet?"

"No. She's not insane," he retorted. "How about you sit quietly on the couch until it's a more human time to wake up?"

"Miss Donny!" Zane's voice said from the hallway as he approached the living room. He was still in his footy-pyjamas and his hair was still sticking up from sleep. Rosie was clutched firmly in his arm and Zane appeared to be just as awake as their early-morning visitor.

"G'morning, my love!" she said, kneeling down to wrap him in a hug. "Are you excited for the game today?"

"The Kidditch game?" he asked. When she nodded, he smiled. "Yes! I'm very excited! I'm going to see so many brooms and all the Kidditch players!"

"You sure are!" she replied.

"I'm going back to sleep," Draco yawned.

"Can I take Zane out for breakfast?" Donny asked as Draco walked towards the hall. He nodded in response and closed his ears against the excited squeals.

Many hours later when Draco deemed it the normal, human time to wake up, he opened his eyes to an empty bed. He slowly got up and made his way to the bathroom where he conducted the morning necessities. He could hear his wife in the kitchen and he could hear Donny and Zane laughing about something.

He dressed for the day and went to the kitchen, prepared for an interesting day.

"What is that you're wearing on your collar?" Donny yelled the instant he walked into the room.

"Good morning to you, too," Draco replied as Hermione handed him a cup of tea. "I believe I'm wearing a Falcons pin."

"But Woodie plays for Puddlemere!" she groaned.

"I'm not sure if Hermione filled you in, but I'm not Oliver Wood's favorite person. We played against each other back in school and more often than not, the games didn't end with friendly sportsmanship."

Donny furrowed her brow with the acceptance of this new information. "So, you're not going to come into the locker room with us?"

"I have friends on the Falcons team and I'll be visiting them instead. I haven't seen them in a while and if I did decide to join you in the Puddlemere locker room, Wood would probably ignore you. So, if you want to snag him, go with Hermione."

"I want to go with Miss Donny and Mummy!" Zane announced.

Draco shrugged and hid a smile. "You have fun then, Z."

"Can we go now?" Zane and Donny asked at the same time.

"Are your hands clean and did you make your bed?" Hermione asked Zane.

"Yes," both Zane and Donny sighed. Hermione exchanged a smile with Draco.

"Ok, then. We can go."

"YAY!" the two yelled, jumping up and bouncing around the kitchen.

"I never signed on to have another kid," Draco mumbled to Hermione on their way out of the kitchen. "You're in charge of Donny today."

She playfully slapped his arm and laughed at him, ushering the excited ones out of the flat and to the Apparition point behind the building.

* * *



Hermione watched Draco walk down to the opposite side of the large hallway that housed the opposing team locker rooms. He was walking towards the Falcons' locker room and she was watching his straight, elegant gait as he gave her a small wave and smile.

She clutched Zane's hand in hers and listened to Zane reassure Donny.

"You look very, very beautiful, Miss Donny. Stop looking in the mirror!" he was saying.

Donny ran her tongue over her teeth and looked to Hermione for the crucial teeth-check.

"Zane's right, Don. You look beyond gorgeous and it doesn't even matter what you look like! You're a wonderful girl and if Woodie can't see that, then you're better off without him," she told her.

"You know what? You're right, babe. It's time to leave the insecure Donny out in the hall and go in as super-confident Donatella Miller."

"There you go," Hermione laughed. "Now, you just need to fix your hair and we'll be fine."

Donny's jaw dropped and she pulled out her compact mirror again.

"I'm kidding, Donny!" she replied, snatching the mirror from Donny's grasp. "Your hair is beautiful just like your face and everything else. It was a great idea to leave it down and an even more great idea to not straighten it. Your waves are looking extra… wavy."

Donny put her hand up to her dark locks and bit her lip. "Ok… then let's get a move on!"

They walked up to the door of the Puddlemere locker room and showed the security wizard their VIP passes. He looked at them with a nod of his head and opened the door for them. A representative for the team met them at the door and shook their hands.

"Welcome, welcome. I'm Ralph and I'm the P.U. representative of human resources. You three must be the lucky VIP's."

They introduced themselves and Ralph nodded his head at them. "It's a pleasure to meet you and I really won't stand in your way here. If you have any questions, I'll be by the door and you can just walk around the locker room and make yourselves at home. The players are already dressed so you don't have to worry about walking in on them half-naked," he laughed.

Hermione heard Donny mutter a soft curse and a sigh.

"You have about an hour before the players have to line up for the start of the game, so just enjoy yourselves and don't forget your free shirt on your way out."

They thanked the representative and made their way to the partition that separated the anteroom and the actual locker room. "Good luck, Don," Hermione whispered as they appeared in front of the players.

The seven men looked up when the three of them appeared. The awkwardness was quite intense as everyone stared at each other until Zane broke the silence.

"Brooms!" he squealed, looking at the impressive flying instruments that were lined up against the wall.

"I don't think I've ever seen lovelier VIPs in my entire career," one of the players said, his smile cocky and his swagger confident as he approached them. "Benjamin Sands at your service; captain and seeker of Puddlemere United."

Hermione introduced them all and had to hold on tight to Zane's hand to make sure he didn't struggle out of her grasp to go touch a broom.

"You never seen a broom before, mate?" he asked Zane, crouching down to talk to him.

"My daddy has a broom but I'm not 'upposed to touch it," Zane confided in the man.

"Well, I don't see any harm in you getting a closer look at the brooms," Benjamin smiled. "Do you want to meet the rest of the team?"

Zane shrugged and looked up at Hermione and Donny. "Ok. But I want to see the brooms more."

Benjamin laughed and nodded. "A true flyer among us."

He took Zane's hand and led the three of them over to where the team was standing. He introduced them all one by one and Hermione caught the interested looks they all gave Donny, ignoring Hermione once they caught the wedding ring on her finger. She couldn't help but be proud of Donny's beauty and bubbly personality as she shook hands with the players and gave them her natural charm.

Surprisingly, Oliver Wood was the last to be introduced to them. He looked at Hermione first and furrowed his eyebrows. "Yer Potter's friend, right?"

Hermione nodded and shook his hand.

"I thought ye looked familiar. Potter's game depended on ye so much it would be hard to forget ye," he said, smiling. He looked over at Donny and looked back down to the ground, his cheeks turning a bashful pink.

"Your picture is in my school," Zane announced, looking up at the tall man.

"Is that so?" Oliver asked, kneeling down in front of Zane. "Do ye watch a lot of Quidditch, wee lad?"

"Sometimes," he replied. "Miss Donny watches much more than me. She loves you."

Donny groaned and flashed a quick smile when Oliver looked up at her. He smiled and looked back down at Zane. "Who is this Miss Donny ye speak of?"

"Miss Donny is right here! She teaches the big kids at school and she always plays with me and gives me kisses and gives me big hugs and she is so pretty all the time and Wolf said he wants to marry her when he gets big!"

"Who is Wolf?"

"Wolf is my bestest friend in all of the world!" Zane explained.

"This friend of yers is quite a smart lad," he whispered to the boy. "Can ye introduce me to yer Miss Donny?"

"Of course I can," Zane said in his most big-boy voice. "That's Miss Donny over there! My mummy is standing next to her."

Oliver stood up straight and stuck his large hand out to Donny. "It is nice to meet ye, Miss Donny. I'm Oliver Wood." His cheeks still held a tint of pink as he smiled at her.

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Wood. I'm Donny Miller," she said brightly.

"Please, call me Oliver. Now, Donny is quite a unique name for a lass," he said quietly. "Is it short for anythin'?"

"It's actually Donatella, but nobody has called me that since primary school," she said.

"But that's such a bonny name," he told her. "If ye dinnae mind, can I call ye Donatella?"

She gave a mock sigh and smiled at him with a wink. "If you win the game today then you can call me Donatella."

"Ah, now we _must_ win," he chuckled. "Ye'll be in the locker room after the game, then?"

"I'm not sure yet," she said with a casual shrug.

For a moment, he actually looked stricken and Hermione could not believe how fast Donny had hooked him and how completely indifferent she was acting to meeting the man she had obsessed over for the past few years. Women all over would need to take lessons from her.

"If we win, ye'll have to come and congratulate us and go out to dinner with us. If we lose, then ye'll have to come and console us… give us a shoulder to cry on," he explained.

"Well, when you put it that way, I guess I really can't refuse," Donny said with a finger tapping her lips.

"Can I see your broom now?" Zane asked, entirely bored with the conversation. Adults talked too much.

"Of course, lad," Oliver said, dragging his eyes away from Donny to take Zane by the hand and lead him to the row of brooms.

Donny and Hermione stayed in place and waited until the boys were out of earshot before turning to each other and laughing into their hands, looking like a pair of pre-teens in the presence of a rock star.

"Can you believe it? He wants to call me Donatella!" Donny whispered loudly.

"He can't keep his eyes off of you, Don!" Hermione whispered back, grabbing Donny by the arm and hugging her tight.

"I wonder what Zane is telling him," Donny said, looking at the boys as they talked to each other. Oliver kept shooting Donny glances and looking quickly back as Zane explained something to him.

Near the brooms, Oliver listened intently as he fished information from the young boy.

"Ye said there is a picture of me at yer school? Why?" he asked.

"I don't know," Zane said, his eyes glued to the broom in front of him as he ran his tiny hands over the shiny handle. "Miss Donny gives it kisses when school is done."

"Kisses?"

"Yes. I already told you that she loves you a lot! Are you going to marry her? Wolf said he's going to marry her when he gets bigger. Are you going to share with Wolf? My mummy and my daddy got married and they had to kiss each other and it was yucky."

"Ye talk verra fast, Zane," Oliver said, looking over again at the two women whispering to each other. "Do you think yer friend, Wolf, will mind if I take yer Miss Donny out to dinner?"

"Can Wolf and me go, too?" Zane asked mindlessly as he poked at the bristles on the broom.

Oliver rubbed the back of his head and shook his head slowly. "I dinnae think that would be verra fun for ye and yer friend."

"Ok. Growmups are boring a lot. My mummy and daddy talk so much and it makes me sleepy! And when they kiss it's yucky. Are you going to kiss Miss Donny?"

"Do ye think she'll kiss me, then?" Oliver asked with a laugh. "I thought ye said it was yucky."

"It _is_ yucky. But, I think you can kiss her one time. It will make her happy and it can make her smile and she is pretty when she smiles. She lets me put on her pretty red lipstick on her lips all the time. She says I do it the best."

"How about ye ask her for me? Ask yer Miss Donny if she'll give me a good luck kiss for the game," he said. "If she says yes, I'll let ye sit on any broom ye pick."

Zane's eyes lit up and he grabbed Oliver's hand, dragging the larger man over to where the women stood.

"Miss Donny! The Kidditch man wants you to give him a kiss for he can have good luck at the game! It's ok; you can give him a kiss. It won't be yucky."

Donny's eyes widened as she exchanged a glance with Hermione. Was this actually happening? Was Oliver freakin' Wood actually asking for a kiss? Holy Hell.

"It willnae be verra long. Just a good luck kiss from a bonny mouse so that I can play extra hard," Oliver said, running his thumb and forefinger over his jaw.

"I guess that would be alright," Donny said with a shrug and smile. "Does the rest of the team also get a good luck kiss?"

He shook his head vehemently and furrowed his brows. "I don't think so. That would be verra bad luck."

Hermione could only take so much subtle flirting and she sensed Zane being grossed out, so she took the little boy by the hand and gave her friend and the handsome Quidditch player some privacy.

"Was that Woodie?" Zane asked as they walked along an empty row.

"Yes, that was Woodie," Hermione smiled down at him.

"Oh, ok. I know he's the man in the picture at school but I didn't know he's also Woodie," he explained. "He said that I can sit on a broom if Miss Donny gives him a kiss."

"It looks like you'll be sitting on a broom, then," she said as they took a seat on a vacant bench.

"Can I have a punkin juice when we watch the Kidditch game?"

"As long as it's ok with your daddy, then it's ok with me."

"I see Miss Donny; she's smiling big," Zane said, looking in the opposite direction.

Hermione looked up to see Donny casually strolling down the row where they were sitting, her cheeks flushed and her smile wide. She sat down next to Hermione and exhaled a breath.

"Are you ready to go find our seats?" Hermione asked with a laugh.

"Oh, yes," Donny nodded, her smile twitching with the effort not to laugh. "I'm going to have to skip dinner after the game."

"Why's that?" Hermione asked as they walked out of the locker room.

"I just remembered an appointment with a certain Scottish Quidditch Keeper I can't miss. It just came up, actually," she said with a dreamy sigh. "Can you believe it, Hermione? He asked me out!"

"Of course I can believe it. You're stunning, Don, just in case no one has ever told you before. You're a bundle of cute and spunky wrapped up in a petite little package. The poor bloke had no choice but to be completely entranced by you."

"I just can't understand how amazing this all is… I mean, this stuff only happens in stories! But, it's happening to me in real life! It wouldn't have happened without you, Hermione. I love you so much!"

"Do you love me, too, Miss Donny?" Zane asked.

"I love you the most," she replied. "I don't know what you said to Woodie, but I officially love you the most."

Zane smiled his father's arrogant smile and sped up ahead the minute he saw Draco come out of the Falcon's locker room. "Daddy! We met Woodie!"

Draco nodded in acknowledgement and picked up his son. "I see you're still in one piece, Donny. I was expecting you to spontaneously combust upon meeting Wood."

"I thought so, too. But apparently not only can I remain in one piece around him but I can also stay firmly attached to the ground while he kisses me."

"You kissed him?" Draco asked in astonishment.

"No. _He_ kissed _me_," she replied with a coy smile. "Boy, can he kiss!"

"Kissing is yucky," Zane added.

"Oh, Zane, I cannot wait until you're older and all the girls will be following you and you'll regret the days you thought that kissing was yucky."

Reaching their seats in the VIP box, they ordered the typical game-day snacks and settled in for an interesting match. Hermione tried to concentrate on the game, but a certain husband of hers had his arm around her and was caressing her arm in a most delicious manner. He had no idea of the effect he had on her.

And she had no idea of the effect she had on him. Namely, just the presence of her near him made him feel as though he couldn't get enough of her. She was soft in his arms and warm in every way possible… and she was _his._ Well, she was his for at least a few more weeks…

* * *

a/n: I know there should be no excuses for taking so long with this update, but it's the middle of finals right now and my grandmother just died and I just got home from a cousin's wedding in Mississippi and work has been completely taxing…. But again, there should be no excuses and I'm sorry! I love you all so very much and I thank everyone who voted for me over at the Quill to Parchment awards!


	17. Tell Me You Love Me

Disclaimer: All Harry Potter related characters, places and themes belong to J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury and Scholastic.

A/N: The chapter title comes from the song "The Scientist" by Coldplay. So very sorry for the wait! I should be punished, I really should! Forgive me?

* * *

**Chapter 17: Tell Me You Love Me**

* * *

Zane stared at the closed door of his bedroom with his arms folded across his chest and his flaxen eyebrows furrowed in anger. His legs were dangling over the side of his bed and were swinging in short kicks at the poor mattress.

He was in a bad mood since he wasn't allowed into his mummy and daddy's room that morning. He had actually turned the doorknob to their bedroom to find it locked. The absolute nerve of them to lock him out! He had tried knocking on the door, but they just told him to wait a few minutes and come back later. They actually had had the audacity to giggle and not even come to the door to tell him to go away!

Suffice it to say, Zane Malfoy was not in a very good mood. All he had wanted to do was say good morning to them and give them a hug and kiss and they wouldn't even let him in to the room. Well, they were just a bunch of poop-heads.

He hopped off the bed and grabbed Rosie from his post on the floor. His Malfoy determination barely in check, he reached up to his doorknob and opened the door. He stomped all the way over to the living room and walked to the telephone. He needed to talk to Gamma immediately.

Hermione had taught him how to use the telephone in case of emergencies. She had told him very specifically that he was only to use it to call Gamma if there was an emergency only. This was most definitely an emergency and he just had to speak to Gamma. Narcissa had readily agreed to have a telephone installed at the manor, not wanting to even think of the injuries Zane could get from not using the floo properly.

Zane picked up the receiver and looked at the numbers. He pressed the right numbers in the right order and waited as the tone sounded. One ring. Two rings. Three rings.

"Hello?" Narcissa's voice sounded through the receiver.

"Gamma?" Zane squeaked, his eyes starting to burn with angry tears.

"Zane, my love, is everything all right?" Her panicked tone was clearly evident.

"No, Gamma. I'm very, very, very mad!" he said with a sniffle.

"And what is it that you are mad at?" she asked with a sigh of relief. She was quite used to the Malfoy males' melodrama. She had suffered through it for years.

"Mummy and daddy locked the door, and they won't let me in the room, and I just wanted to say good morning to them, and I wanted to hug them and give them a big kiss, and they wouldn't let me come in 

and… and…" At that point, Zane started to cry into the telephone. "I'm mad at Mummy and Daddy very much!"

"Oh, goodness gracious," Narcissa breathed into the phone. "Please wipe your tears and don't be upset, darling. I know you are feeling very sad and angry at your mummy and daddy, but I need you to be a big boy and listen for a moment, ok?"

He nodded his head, a fruitless move since she obviously couldn't see him.

"Zane, your parents love you very much. Sometimes mummies and daddies need to spend some time together without any children. Now, like I said, they still love you with all of their hearts and you mustn't forget that. You have to be a big boy and understand that they sometimes need to have some privacy."

"But… but, what are they doing all by themselves?" he asked.

"They are just spending time together," Narcissa said, clearing her throat to cover something a certain husband of hers was saying.

"Is that Gampa?" Zane asked, hearing Lucius's baritone laugh in the background.

"Yes, that is Gampa acting very silly," she replied tartly. "Back to what I was telling you, Zane, do you understand what I'm saying about your parents?"

"Yes," he said grudgingly. "Can I talk to Gampa?"

He figured that if Gamma wouldn't help him, Gampa definitely could. He heard some grumbles and sighs on the other end and then finally heard his grandfather's voice.

"Yes, Zane?" Lucius said.

"Gampa? Can you put Mummy and Daddy in time-out for locking me out?"

"Didn't you just hear what your grandmother said?" he asked with a weary sigh.

"But they won't let me in to the room!" Zane said. "Are they playing games without me?"

He heard his grandfather chuckle, and then he heard a smack followed by a muffled curse word.

"Gampa! That's a bad word!"

"My apologies, Zane. Your grandmother was manhandling me," he explained.

Zane didn't understand a word of that so he decided to ignore it. "I want to play games if Mummy and Daddy are playing games! Are they playing 'fort'? Me and Wolf play 'fort,' and you have to have a password to come into the fort, and there are no girls allowed in the fort, and only Rosie and Jasper and me and Wolf can go in the fort because we all know the password…"

"Zane Malfoy" Lucius's voice finally interrupted the rant. "Are you quite finished with your story?"

"Do I need a password to get into Mummy and Daddy's fort?" Zane asked. He needed answers to his questions, darn it!

"Narcissa, I swear, if you don't stop hitting me…" Lucius said after another laugh.

"What's the password, Gampa?" Zane asked, trying to steer the focus back to the dilemma at hand.

"What password?" Lucius asked. "Oh, for Merlin's sake… Zane, you are not allowed to go into your parents' fort. You must give them time to be alone together because the last thing I need is for you to walk in on things I don't want you knowing about until you reach puberty. Merciful heaven, just wait until they're finished… talking… and then just annoy them until you're satisfied."

"They're talking?" Zane asked.

"Yes. Talking," he replied curtly.

"Oh, ok. Growmups always talk very boring," Zane went on to explain. "I don't want to go in their fort anymore."

"Praise the gods," Lucius murmured. "Now, be a good boy and sit on the couch with your dinosaur toy or whatever toy you wish to sit with."

"Ok, Gampa. I think I hear their door open! Bye!" Zane quickly slammed the receiver back on the phone's cradle and walked to the hallway where Hermione had emerged from the bedroom, her bathrobe wrapped tightly around her.

"Who were you talking to, sweetheart?" she asked, worried that someone might have been at the door.

"Gamma and Gampa," he replied.

"Did they call? I didn't hear the phone," she asked.

"I just talked to them and they told me that I should be big boy," he explained. He wasn't about to tell her about the conversation. He was still a bit upset with her and his daddy and he was going to keep what his grandparents told him to himself. "Are you and daddy done talking?"

Hermione coughed and felt her cheeks burn. "Uh, yes."

"Good. Don't lock me out again!" he warned, walking back towards his room to change out of his pyjamas. "You talked too long!"

Hermione watched him walk away, her face in her hand as she contemplated the fastest way to dig a hole in the ground, crawl into it and die.

* * *

Monday morning dawned slowly and brightly, much to the displeasure of Draco's drowsiness. He pulled the covers over his head and turned back to sleep before he felt the poking finger of his wife.

"Get up, Draco," Hermione said with a yawn as she poked at her husband's shoulder.

"I don't want to," he murmured into his pillow.

"You have to go to work," she said, turning her pokes into a soft rub.

"Bugger work," he mumbled.

"Help me get Zane dressed. Today is his interview with Rhonda," she replied. She kissed the nape of his neck and climbed out of the bed. She walked to the bathroom and left him in the bed all alone. He hated it when she left him in the bed all alone.

"Fine! I'm up!" he grumbled loudly, sitting up and running his fingers through his hair.

Together, they got ready for the day, woke Zane up, dressed him, fed him, fed themselves, and left the house. Right before they were to go off to their different locations, Draco knelt down and clasped Zane's shoulders.

"Zane, today you're going to see Miss Rhonda and talk to her," he explained.

"I know. Mummy told me," Zane replied.

"I want you to be very polite to Miss Rhonda and answer all of her questions. If she makes you feel upset or angry, then you be sure to tell your mummy about it when the interview is finished, ok?"

"Ok, Daddy," he nodded. "Can I have a hug?"

Draco had no choice but to oblige the kid, so he wrapped his arms around him and kissed his hair. Once he stood up, Hermione gave him a reassuring smile. Like the sap he was, he leaned over and kissed her lips softly.

She blinked rapidly once he pulled away, not used to any displays of affection from him outside of their flat.

"I'll see you two at home," he said with a small smile and apparated on the spot.

"Kissing is yucky," Zane said as he pulled her arm towards the sidewalk.

"Very yucky," Hermione said, smiling down at him.

"Wolf said he wants to kiss Miss Donny when he gets bigger but not now because it's yucky," he explained.

"We'll see," she added noncommittally. "Now, let's go over the letter of the week…"

* * *

Hermione walked into the school and helped Zane with his jumper and his backpack before watching him walk into the classroom to start drawing on the chalkboard. She walked in behind him once she saw Donny arranging the books in the library center.

"Good morning, Donny," Hermione said brightly as she kneeled down to help her.

"Morning, Hermione. How are you this morning?"

"I'll be fine once you tell me how your date went with Oliver," she said with a sly smile.

"What date?" Donny replied with a guilty look and a mischievous look in her eye.

"Don! Don't tease me! Tell me what happened, please," Hermione begged.

"Oh, alright. It was a nice date. And by nice I mean it was the most fantastic evening in the history of evenings! He bought me flowers, Hermione. Roses! I nearly ripped off his pants right then and there!"

Hermione quickly glanced over to make sure Zane was far enough not to hear their discussion. "Besides you being ridiculously perverted, what else happened?"

"Well, we couldn't really go just anywhere, because Woodie is so well-known, so he took me to this restaurant that has a private booth reserved just for him. I swear he was so cute trying to impress me. I mean, really, we could have had dinner out in the alley behind the Leaky Cauldron and I still would have been on cloud nine."

"What did the two of you talk about?"

Donny's eyes brightened and she pushed her hair out of her eyes. "He seemed so interested in my work here at the school and he's just about the sweetest man who ever walked this earth. He's modest and he's so attentive. He actually pays attention when I speak and I just wanted to kiss the Scottish brogue right out of his mouth every time he uttered a syllable. Oh, Hermione… he's so wonderful. I don't know what I've done to deserve all this."

"You haven't done anything, Don. You're a wonderful person and you deserve to be happy," Hermione told her. "Now, stop with the sappy stuff, and just tell me if he kissed you again!"

"He kissed me. Twice," Donny smiled. "He wants to see me again when he gets back from the Champions World Tour next week. He's owled me twice since our date and he flooed me this morning to wish me a good day at school. How on earth was this man created so perfectly? It boggles the mind."

"You'll keep me updated on this hot, new relationship, right?" Hermione asked as they finished arranging the books.

"Duh," Donny replied with a roll of her eyes. "Just like you'll keep me updated on what happens today at Zane's interview."

"Definitely. Although, now that you mention it, I'm absolutely terrified," Hermione sighed. "Zane is so trusting and so innocent and I just hope they don't intimidate him too much." She paused for a moment and bit her lip. "Draco is nervous."

"I'm sure he is. His son's custody is in the balance and we both know that Draco would fall apart without him. I mean, I know he loves you and all, but Zane is his entire existence."

Hermione snorted. "Draco doesn't love me."

In a horrified instant, she realized her mistake when Donny quirked an eyebrow.

"I'm just joking!" Hermione laughed, her heart beating ferociously and her lips shaking slightly.

Donny smiled. "You're funny, Hermione. Real funny. Anyone can see how infatuated he is with you. I mean, forget the burning looks he gives you and the way he always has to touch you in some way whether it be his hand on the small of your back or his arm around your shoulders…"

Hermione let the rest of Donny's words trail off as she sat in shock. She'd never even noticed any of those things, but now that Donny was bringing them up she realized they were true. But, that didn't mean Draco loved her. Did it?

"… it's amazing how he still has that newlywed adoration for you even after three months. It's no wonder the two of you married so quickly," Donny had continued. She sighed and then stood up, helping Hermione off the floor as well. "I hope one day I'll be in just as much love as the two of you."

With that, Hermione numbly watched her friend walk over to the chalkboard and help Zane erase his drawings. She couldn't get Donny's words out of her head… she had a lot of thinking to do.

* * *

Miss Rhonda Westin sat in a chair across from Zane in her private office, watching the little boy as he stared at a motivational poster behind her desk. His legs were dangling off the chair and were swinging slowly as his eyes inspected the room slowly.

She set a quill to automatically dictate their conversation and leaned forward in her chair. "Well, Zane, let's reacquaint ourselves, shall we? I'm Rhonda Westin, your permanently assigned Domestic Ministry Professional," she said slowly, adjusting the rolls of parchment in her hands.

He stared at her with a blank expression.

"How has your day been so far?" she asked.

"I went to school with my mummy," he replied. "Wolf and me played in the sand and I had some macaroni at lunchtime."

"That sounds good," she said. "Do you like going to school?"

"Yes. My mummy is my teacher, and we learn stuff all the time, and my mummy says I'm very smart," he told her. "Wolf is my bestest friend, and he is in my school, and we play at recess and at centers. I love school very, very, very, very much."

"Do you ever have to go to time-out at school?"

"Sometimes I don't be quiet when my mummy says we have to be quiet, so she puts me in the timeout, and I have to be very quiet in the timeout or I won't get to play at recess or centers."

"Tell me, Zane, do you like your new mummy?"

"I love my mummy," he said seriously. "She gives me kisses, and she gives me big hugs, and she always plays with me, and I love her very, very, very, very much."

"Does she ever spank you?"

Zane's eyebrows furrowed. "Sometimes when I do something very bad. But my daddy spanks me more."

Rhonda gave him a small smile. "Does it hurt when they spank you, Zane?"

"No. They hit me soft," he said. "But they only give me a spanking when I do something very, very, very, very bad. Sometimes I just have to sit in my room and I don't get to watch any telly."

"Do you watch the telly a lot?"

"My mummy says I can only watch for one hour before I go to sleep. I watch all the time this big di-osaur like Rosie and he sings songs and I love to watch it. Rosie likes to watch it, too. Daddy does not like to watch it. He says it hurts his head a lot," he explained. "Mummy watches it with me and we sing the songs together!"

Rhonda nodded slowly. "Do your mummy and daddy argue? Do they fight with each other?"

"Yes, sometimes they yell at each other, but Wolf's mummy and daddy yell at each other, too and we close our ears." He demonstrated by pressing his hands against his ears and smiling at the woman. "See? And Gamma and Gampa yell at each other, too. Actually, Gamma always yells at Gampa and Gampa just does like this." He lifted one of his dark blond eyebrows using his pointer finger.

"I see. Now, do you ever miss your real mummy?"

"My mummy is my teacher," he told her. "I miss her a lot when I sleep at Wolf's house and when I visit Gamma and Gampa."

"No, Zane. Your real mummy lives in France and her name is Pansy," Rhonda clarified.

"Pansy?" Zane's little mouth pursed in concentration. "Pansy isn't my mummy. She was not nice to me and my mummy is my mummy now. She's my teacher at school."

"Zane, your real mother is Pansy. She is your true and only mother."

"No, Pansy is just Pansy. She doesn't smile at me and she doesn't give me kisses and hugs. Mummy is my real mummy," he clarified. Why didn't this stupid lady understand?

"Well, then, do you ever miss Pansy?"

"No."

"Just no?"

"I don't like Pansy. She's not nice to me and I want to see my mummy now. I don't want to talk anymore. Can I go right now?"

"Zane, we aren't finished with our conversation."

"But I want to see my mummy and give her a big hug and then I want to go home and see my daddy and then we can have dinner and I can play with Rosie," he told her.

"I just have one more question," she said patiently.

He gave her another blank look.

"Did you know that Pansy loves you very much?"

He kept staring.

"She does, Zane, and she wishes that you would love her, too."

"Can I see my mummy now?" he asked, jumping off the seat and heading towards the door. "Bye-bye Ronna!"

She watched the little boy open the door and peek outside before spotting his stepmother and rushing into her arms. She stopped the automatic quill and stepped outside to speak with her.

"Mrs. Malfoy? Our interview is finished for today. Zane did a swell job and I'll be in contact within the next week to set up interviews with your employee, Zane's grandparents and other immediate relations."

Hermione gave the woman a feigned smile and nodded curtly. "Good day, Miss Westin," she said shortly. "Come along, Zane."

Zane latched onto her hand and turned a sly smile to Rhonda before the both of them turned the corner of the hallway. Rhonda ran a shaky hand through her messy hair and walked back into her office where she proceeded to grab a headache-relief serum and a cup of tea. She read over the dictated notes with a weary disposition and started contemplating another career-choice.

* * *

Draco paced anxiously in front of the fireplace as he glanced at the clock hanging over the mantle. Hermione and Zane would be home soon and he had just gotten home himself, unable to do anything until he knew how the interview had gone.

At the sound of the front door opening, he held his breath until they came into view.

"Daddy!" Zane shrieked, launching himself into his father's arms.

Draco kissed the top of his son's head and hugged him tight, glancing up at Hermione as she hung her cloak in the hallway closet. "How was your day, Zane?"

"It was fun! Mummy bought me two sweets when we were walking home!" he exclaimed, pulling his head back to look at his father.

Draco glanced at the ring of chocolate around Zane's mouth and laughed softly. He kissed his cheek and picked him up. "How did the interview go?" he asked Hermione.

She shrugged. "Zane said it went alright and that he didn't feel uncomfortable. He said that Rhonda asked him about school and about Pansy."

"What did he say?" Draco gulped.

Hermione smiled and bit her lower lip. "What did you tell Miss Rhonda when she asked you about Pansy, Zane?" she asked the little boy in his father's arms.

"She told me that Pansy was my mummy but that's so silly because you're my mummy! You give me hugs and kisses, and Pansy is always a meanie-head to me."

Hearing those words again, Hermione felt her eyes fill with foolish tears as she gave Draco a small smile. "I believe he told Rhonda something along those terms."

"The kid doesn't know it yet, but he's as Slytherin as it gets," Draco mentioned as he let Zane down. "It's enough to make me fear for our sanity."

They watched Zane zoom off down the hall towards his room. Hermione started to walk to the kitchen to start dinner when Draco's hand stopped her. He wrapped his fingers around her wrist and turned her around so that she was facing him. He tilted her chin up with his knuckles and kissed her lips, turning the kiss deeper when she leaned into him. He pulled away slightly and kept his lips against hers as he spoke. "Thank you, Hermione. For everything."

"What did I say about thanking me?" she asked breathlessly against his mouth, eager to taste more of him.

He laughed, kissing her again, his smile transferring from his lips to hers.

He pulled back from her when they heard Zane's singing coming down the hallway. "His timing is impeccable," Draco muttered. "We'll finish this later."

He kissed the tip of her nose and walked to their room, leaving to change from his work clothes and to leave his wife with a wide smile on her face.

--

Draco had kept his word and they had finished their little business later that night, not even waiting until they reached the bed, but going at it during Hermione's nightly shower… and then against the sink in the bathroom… and then once more for good luck on the bedroom floor.

As they lay in bed that night, Hermione stroking Draco's baby-soft hair as his head lay against her chest, she couldn't prevent her mind from doing things it shouldn't do, like realizing that she was utterly, hopelessly, absurdly, and certifiably in love with Draco Malfoy.

A soft smile caressed her lips as the thought came to full bloom. She was in love! She was in love, and she was happy, and she was the luckiest woman on the planet. She had a husband who could make her laugh, who could make her angry beyond all reason, who could take her to the most intense sexual peaks and then make her heart fill to burst with his rare words of endearment.

When she heard Draco's breathing even out against her chest, she closed her eyes and bit back the annoying voice in her head that said she was in deep trouble. She was set to divorce Draco in almost three months and she had a gut feeling that he didn't share the same feelings she held for him, regardless of what Donny said. Draco was just a really good actor.

With a sigh, she decided that she'd keep her little realization to herself until she knew for certain that Draco held any feelings for her. It would completely destroy her if she were to tell him how she felt and learn that he didn't love her at all…

* * *

Draco's existence seemed pretty peaceful: a wife who was turning into a surprisingly fantastic lover and friend, a son who worshipped the ground he walked on, and a steady career that fulfilled him intellectually.

He couldn't remember ever having a more content existence and for some reason, he knew that it was too good to be true.

He was right, of course. Two weeks before his four month wedding anniversary, a rainy Saturday morning, he answered his door to find Victor Reid standing on the other side… the man who had almost raped Hermione… the man who Draco was about to strangle for daring to show up at his flat…

* * *

...

* * *

a/n: yes, it's a short chapter and it ends on a cliffhanger, but I'll be updating much faster this time! I'm really so sorry it took so long to get this chapter out! I hope you will all forgive me!! Thank you so much for your reviews, patience and for all the condolences. They really all mean so much to me. I also want to thank everyone who voted at the Dramione awards and the QtP awards for this story! It won Best 

Fluffy Fic at QtP and Best Fic with a Baby or Kids at the Dramione awards and Second Place for Best Comedy also at the Dramione awards. Thank you all so very, very much! MUAH!


	18. If You Love Me, Won’t You Let Me Know?

Disclaimer: All Harry Potter related characters, places and themes belong to J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury and Scholastic.

A/N: The chapter title comes from the song "Violet Hill" by Coldplay. Thank you for all the reviews!

* * *

**Chapter 18: If You Love Me, Won't You Let Me Know?**

* * *

Draco's fist clenched as he stared into the dark eyes of a man he had no problem with killing.

Victor stood straight, his mouth set in a grim line and his eyes focused on Draco's. He could practically feel the murderous intent radiating from them.

"Give me one good reason not to beat you to within an inch of your pathetic life for showing your face around here," Draco demanded through gritted teeth. He took a step towards Victor, ready to kill the bastard.

"Easy, Malfoy," Victor said solemnly. "I've come to make amends."

"I beg your pardon?"

"I've come to apologize for my actions," Victor said in a slow tone. "After you sent me straight to the Ministry two weeks ago, I was incarcerated and then put into a rehabilitation and anger management program. The first goal I have to accomplish is the apology."

Draco stared at Victor, a man he'd hated since they were boys, and wondered if he should believe him. He decided to state his doubts aloud. "Why should I believe you?"

"Believe me?" Victor snorted. "Can't you see my face, Malfoy? It's still black and blue from the beating I received from you a fortnight ago. If I wasn't serious about this, would I have bothered coming here at all?"

Draco stayed quiet, his fists still clenching and unclenching.

"It seems I was diagnosed with some sort of personality disorder and I'm being treated for that. I know we've never gotten along, but I think you should let me apologize to your wife. I… I feel regret for what I did to her. I was informed by one of the mental health Healers that at the time of the, er, attack, I didn't feel any remorse for what I had done, but with the cognitive therapy I'm going through, I will start feeling the emotions I should have felt. Guilt being one of them."

"Why should I even allow you into the same room as her?"

Victor sighed. "I told you all I want to do is apologize. You can be present if you'd like, but I want to get this over with."

"You have five minutes to tell her what you'd like to say. That is, _if_ she wants to grace you with her presence," Draco said flatly.

"Thank you, then," Victor replied with a small nod.

Draco opened the door to the flat and preceded Victor into the foyer, closing the door behind them. He led him to the living room where Hermione was watching the stupid show with that infuriating dinosaur that Zane loved so much. Zane sat in her lap, singing along to some asinine song about cleaning up.

"Hermione, can I see you in the kitchen?" Draco asked.

She turned to look at him, and the blood drained from her face when she saw who was standing next to him.

Draco saw her stricken look and had to stop himself from getting rid of Victor, getting rid of him the violent way, of course. "It's ok, Hermione," he said quietly.

He actually saw when her face turned from fearful to fearless. She whispered something to Zane, leaving him on the couch, and followed them to the kitchen, her back straight and her chin held in a manner that could only be described as pure 'Malfoy.'

She leaned against the counter with her arms crossed across her chest and raised an eyebrow as Victor gave her a small smile. She looked at Draco, relief pounding through her veins when she saw that he was staying and was standing at the doorway of the kitchen, his mere presence comforting beyond words.

"You have five minutes, Reid," Draco said curtly.

"Right, well, Mrs. Malfoy, seeing as how I don't have much time, I'll just come right out and say what I have to say. First of all, I'd like to give you my sincerest apologies for what occurred between the two of us two weeks ago. I have been jailed, and sent to a rehabilitation facility to treat my mental health issues. I want you to know that even if you don't accept my apology, I'll try my hardest to make sure you know how much I regret my actions."

Hermione glanced once more at Draco, who was examining his fingernails and scowling. She glanced back at Victor and nodded once. "Good luck with your rehabilitation."

Draco looked up when that was all she said before she left the kitchen. At Victor's confused look, Draco suppressed a smile and motioned for the other man to follow him back to the front door. They had no parting words as Draco slammed the door on Victor's face and walked back to the living room where Hermione and Zane were in their original positions on the couch.

"Is he gone?" Hermione asked distractedly as she stroked Zane's hair, the little boy falling asleep under her caresses.

"Yes," Draco said as he took the seat next to her and put his arm around her shoulders.

She didn't say anything and just rested her head against him.

It didn't even occur to Draco to freak out when a large feeling of contentment washed over him. He didn't know when it started happening, but whenever he had Hermione in his arms, he felt relaxed and at ease with the world. Those were feelings Draco Malfoy was not very used to.

What _did_ freak Draco out was the realization that he _needed_ Hermione. There were days when he would wake up and she wasn't in bed, and he would feel this pit uneasiness until she appeared again. He had tried ignoring those feelings, but they were getting harder and harder to ignore. He tried stopping himself from smiling whenever she bunched up her nose every time she laughed. He tried ignoring the fact that he hungered for her body constantly, even when she was curled up in a chair reading an enormous book in her shabbiest sweats. Even then, he still wanted to pounce on her and watch her squirm beneath him as he brought her to the height of pleasure.

"Draco?" Hermione's voice called him back from his thoughts.

"Yeah?"

"Mrs. Weasley invited us over for dinner tonight. Do you want to go? I mean, I understand if you don't want to, but I really don't get to see the Weasleys or Harry very often and I just…"

"Yes, I'll go," he heard himself saying. Why? He really had no freakin' idea.

"Really?" she asked, lifting her head up to face him.

The smile she gave him was enough to explain to him why he had said yes. _What a goddamn sap!_ He was turning soft. Very soft.

"I don't see why I can't behave civilly for an evening. You're always at the manor and I really need to show you that I can act just as well as you do," he grinned.

"You're so competitive, it's really disgusting," she said with her eyes narrowed playfully. "And I actually _like_ going to the manor. Your mother is wonderful to be around. Just because your father grunts at me in salutation and ignores me the rest of the time, doesn't mean anything."

Draco laughed softly, rubbing his side where his wife elbowed him. "You're going to wake Zane up."

"Take him to his room so he can nap in peace," she said, lifting the boy and settling him in Draco's arms.

"Pushy little thing, aren't you?" he teased, standing up and leaving the room before she had a chance to do him anymore bodily harm.

* * *

"Unca George?" Zane grabbed the attention of one of the twins as he sat next to him at the dinner table.

"Yes?" George replied, always happy to converse with the miniature Malfoy.

"Why do you and Unca Fred look the same?"

"Because we're twins, mate," George explained as he took a bite of his mother's cooking.

"What does 'twins' mean?" Zane asked, waiting until he swallowed to ask, because his mummy and daddy had always told him never to talk with his mouth full.

"Twins means that we were born at the same time," George said thoughtfully. "We were in our mummy's tummy at the same time."

"Her tummy? How did you get out of her tummy?" Zane asked.

George nearly choked on his pumpkin juice, his eyes widening as he realized where this was leading. "Uh, well…"

Zane started giggling uncontrollably, and his cheeks turned pink with mirth.

George lifted an eyebrow. "What?"

"Did she poop you out?" Zane asked between gasping laughs.

"Zane!" Hermione's voice came from way down the table where she was speaking to Harry and Ron. "You do not discuss loo-related things at the dinner table. You know better than that."

"Sorry, mummy. Don't tell daddy!" Zane replied quickly.

"You should be grateful he's in the restroom," she said. "Now, no more disrespectful words during dinner."

Zane gave George a mischievous smile. "Was I right, Unca George? Is that how you came out of her tummy?"

"No, mate. You are definitely not right. That's not how it happens," George said, hearing a snicker from his other side. Apparently Fred was listening to their conversation.

"Then how does the babies come out of the mummy's tummy?" Zane asked.

"You should ask your daddy," Fred chimed in, leaning across his brother. "He knows the answer."

"My daddy knows?" Zane asked.

He watched his father walk back into the dining room and take his seat next to Hermione all the way on the other side of the long table. With all the Weasleys, minus Ginny, who was still on tour with the Harpies, assembled in between Zane and his parents, Zane had to use his outside voice to reach his father.

"Daddy, how does babies come out of the mummy's tummy?!" Zane asked.

Complete silence met Zane's outburst. George and Fred were holding their sides and keeping their mouths in straight lines to keep from giving themselves away.

"You know you're not supposed to yell at the dinner table," Draco said with an uncomfortable cough.

"Sorry, but how does it happen? Unca Fred and Unca George said you know," Zane explained.

"Fred! George!" Molly's voice rang out loudly. "Stop corrupting him! He's a darling angel who doesn't need your shoddy influence."

Hermione and Draco both thought that 'darling angel' was a very disillusioned exaggeration.

"You'd think she'd stop scolding us since we're nearing thirty," George said with a sigh.

"Daddy! How does it happen?" Zane asked, his patience wearing out.

Draco sighed and ran a hand through his hair, shooting the Weasley twins a dirty look. "You know how sometimes your mummy and I use magic?"

"Yes," Zane nodded.

"Well, that's how babies come out of their mummies' tummies. A Healer uses magic and then, the baby appears," Draco said with an air of desperation.

He ignored the smirks Harry and Ron were giving him. They could rot in hell. Really, they could.

"Oh," Zane said. "Ok. Is that how I came out of mummy's tummy?"

Everyone's smile disappeared at this question. They all realized that Zane didn't understand that Hermione wasn't his birthmother. Draco and Hermione shared a look, wondering what to tell the young boy.

"Z, uh, you didn't come out of mummy's tummy. You came out of Pansy's tummy," Draco said slowly, his heart breaking as Zane's face turned to confusion.

"But Pansy is not nice to me and she doesn't love me. Only mummy loves me," Zane tried to explain. "She gives me hugs and kisses."

"Yes, I do love you, Zane," Hermione emphasized. "You didn't come out of tummy, but I still love you and I _am_ your mummy."

"But how did I get into Pansy's tummy when I was a baby?" Zane asked.

"Magic," Hermione and Draco answered at the same time.

"Oh. Next time, I think that mummy should have a baby in her tummy, and then I can play with the baby, and he can be my new bestest friend with Wolf."

"Actually, if your mummy and daddy have a baby, it would be your little brother or sister," Harry explained. "Wouldn't you like that?"

"Yes!" Zane said with a large smile. "I want a little brother or a little sister! I can play with them and share my toys and teach them how to do everything!"

"Well, if you ask your parents nicely, maybe they'll get you a little brother or sister," Ron added, sharing a smile with Harry as Hermione and Draco glared at the two of them.

"Can I have a brother or sister, please?!" Zane asked.

Stifling a groan, Draco motioned for Hermione to take this question.

Hermione bit her lip and smiled across the table at her stepson. "Maybe later, sweetheart. It's a very difficult magic and uh…"

"You need to practice?" George and Fred asked at the exact same time.

"Oh, dear heavens," Molly sighed.

"We'll think about it, Zane," Draco said.

"Ok, good," Zane said. He finally seemed satisfied with the answers, because he picked up his fork and dug into the savory food made by Mrs. Weasley.

"Malfoy, have we told you how much we love that kid of yours?" Fred asked. "You _must_ bring him around for meals more often."

"Yeah, I'll do just that," Draco muttered as went back to ignoring all conversations going on around him. He had decided long ago that ignoring things was best when around people he had hated in his childhood. For some reason, he didn't want to hurt Hermione's feelings by getting into a spat with her friends. Goodness, his sappiness levels were starting to get out of hand.

* * *

Later that night, after a long evening of being surrounded by Weasleys, Draco sat on the bed as he waited for Hermione to finish her shower. He sketched in a notebook he kept by the bed, drawing up plans for a building that needed remodeling in Hogsmeade.

The smell of verbena and jasmine caught his attention when Hermione walked into the room with her bathrobe wrapped tightly around her.

She grabbed some body lotion and sat on the bed next to Draco. As she started rubbing the lotion onto her legs, she looked up at him. "What are you working on?"

Draco's concentration took awhile to return to the thought process of talking as he took in the sight of her milky legs and her dainty hands rubbing lotion all over them. "Huh?"

"What are you working on?" she repeated, shaking her head slightly as she laughed, knowing exactly where his attention lay.

"Uh, one of the cafés in Hogsmeade is remodeling, so they wanted to tear down the building they have now and update to a more sturdy design," he explained, setting the notebook back in the drawer in the bedside table. "I was just sketching, nothing too serious."

"I've never told you this, but I really appreciate what you do," she said. "I mean, I've seen some of your blueprints, and it amazes me. I can barely draw stick-figures, and you're over there drawing functional buildings."

"Oh, well, thank you," he said. "I never even knew I could draw well until my mother found some of my school notes and noticed all the doodles and drawings I had on them. After my father yelled at me for not paying attention during lessons, my mother told me that I should consider a career in art."

"Why didn't you become an artist?" she asked, moving to the other leg and slathering that up with lotion.

"I'm not sure," he said with a shrug. "I think I wanted to prove to everyone that I wasn't just some spoiled, pampered snot who would live off their parents' fortune. I wanted to create my own legacy; I guess you could call it that"

"So, what happened to your inheritance?" she asked. Narcissa had accidentally let it slip that Draco had given away the money he had inherited from his grandparents.

He sighed and gave her a look. "My mother told you, didn't she?"

Hermione smiled and closed the bottle of lotion. "She didn't say anything. I figured it out."

"How much did she tell you?" he asked, not believing a word she said.

"Hmmph," she huffed. "She just said something about you getting rid of your inheritances. You can tell me, you know. I won't tell anyone and ruin the bad-boy image you've tried to uphold all these years."

She let out a surprised squeak when he suddenly pushed her down to the bed and smirked down at her as he held himself above her. "You think I have a bad-boy image?"

She inched her hands under his shirt and dragged her fingers up his back. "Oh, yes. Completely naughty."

He let out a laugh and bent his head to kiss her.

She pulled back after she ran out of air. "Don't think you can change the subject by seducing me, you little sneak."

"Me? A sneak?" he asked with complete innocence.

"Answer my question and then you can have your wicked way with me," she said, running one of her hands through his soft hair.

"I most certainly cannot refuse that offer," he sighed, resting himself on his elbows above her. "What was your question, again?"

"What did you do with your inheritance?"

"I donated it. There, can I shag your brains out now?"

She laughed as he slid his hand up her thigh and under her robe. "No! You didn't give me an adequate answer."

"You didn't say I had to," he replied, tickling her with his fingers as he found her wet and ready for him.

She moaned softly and grabbed his hand. "What did you donate your money to?"

"I'm not saying," he replied, pulling down the top part of her bathrobe and smiling lasciviously at her bared chest. "Have I complimented your breasts lately?"

"Stop distracting me!" she laughed as his hand closed over one of her breasts and squeezed slightly "Tell me where you donated your money, or I swear I'm getting up right now and going to sleep in Zane's room."

"You're no fun," he groaned. "I gave the money to an organization."

When he kissed her again, she couldn't stop laughing. "I'm serious, Draco!"

"If you're serious, then why are you laughing?" he argued, kissing a trail to her neck.

She bent her head to give him more access to her neck, smiling widely as his tongue tickled her and danced across her skin. "Answer me," she whispered.

He pulled back and looked down at her face. "Why do you want to know so much?"

"I don't know if you've figured this out, but I'm unhealthily curious about any and all things. Now, answer my question, so that I can shower you with affection once I find out what a kind and sweet soul you are."

He laughed at that and rolled his eyes. "Fine! But, if you tell anyone, I swear to all things magic that I will make you pay. Got it?"

She nodded with an excited smile and dragged his face down for one more kiss. She had come to terms with the fact that she was completely in love with him, so any time she got to touch him, she relished in the feeling.

"I gave the money to the PNO," he said on an exhale.

She stared at him for a long moment, her heartbeat accelerating as her love for the stupid man above her filled her body. "The Pureblood Neglect Organization?"

"Yes," he said with a small nod. "I heard about them through Blaise, whose cousin had to use their services."

"I've only vaguely heard about them. You'll have to explain how the organization works," she said.

He traced his pointer finger across her eyebrows and down her nose, tracing her lips when he reached them. "They're an organization that takes care of squibs and mentally and physically challenged purebloods that are neglected by their families. The pureblood race is not a very tolerant race, as you know, so if their children are born less than perfect, they usually abandon them, or in the worst case, abuse them."

"Oh, that sounds like a great cause," she said reverently, breathing softly under his caresses. "You need to let out your kindhearted side more often."

He shrugged and kissed her lips. "Can I have my prize now?"

"Your prize? I'm a prize?" she asked with a small laugh.

"Oh, the best prize," he murmured into her neck as he pulled the bathrobe away from her body. "The best of prizes…"

"You're not so bad yourself, Malfoy," she said, arching under him. "Oh, God!"

"I love bringing muggle religion into this household," he smiled against her neck as he finally plunged into her warm depths. "But, I must admit I like hearing my name much more."

She laughed and whimpered in pleasure, moaning loudly as he rolled onto his back and moved her on top of him.

"Ride me, love," he growled, running his hands up her sides to cup her breasts.

Hermione dragged her hands up through her hair as she obeyed her husband, riding him slowly. She could only feel complete when she was connected to him in the most animalistic, primal way possible. Her breathing grew labored and her body shuddered after only a few minutes atop of him. Draco soon, as always, followed her into the world of blissful climaxes.

"I could stay inside you for the rest of my life," he said raggedly as Hermione climbed off of him. His chest rose sharply with his staggered breaths, the sated smile on his face wide as he dragged his wife into his arms.

"Too bad we only have two more months or so," she whispered.

She could feel Draco stiffen beside her, his arm tensing around her shoulders. A slight frown found its way to her face as she realized that Draco would never feel what she felt for him. She had done the one 

thing she had explicitly hoped wouldn't happen. She had let her emotions rule her and now she was in love with a man who didn't love her back.

"Uh, yeah," he replied lamely.

Little did she know that Draco wasn't feeling the exact opposite of what she was feeling. He was feeling the exact same. Somewhere along the way, after watching her be a loving mother to his son, after matching wits with her day after day, after waking up to her luscious body next to his almost every morning, Draco had fallen in love with the woman he never, ever thought he would even feel a remote ounce of admiration for.

He was in trouble… Hermione was a great companion, but she didn't love him back. If she loved him, she wouldn't have mentioned their limited time together. If she loved him wouldn't she have said something? Sure, she was compassionate and kind and embraced everything with an open heart… but that didn't mean she loved him, a former Death Eater's son, a boy who had tortured her and her friends as children.

Yep, his feelings were most definitely one-sided. _Damn it._


	19. And Everything Is Torn Apart

Disclaimer: All Harry Potter related characters, places and themes belong to J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury and Scholastic.

**Quick note:** I know some of you didn't like the fact that I wrote in dialect for Oliver Wood a few chapters ago because JKR doesn't write in dialect for him, but I like to use that literary device because it makes it easier for me to play out the scenes in my head. The thing with Oliver is that he is portrayed by a Scottish actor, so in the movie, he's Scottish, but his actual nationality is never mentioned in the books, so I like to pretend he's a Scot so I can give him the sexy accent :). Ok, so enough of that. Thank you all for the kind reviews and the sweet words! I have the best readers in the entire fandom. The chapter title comes from the song "The Hardest Part" by Coldplay.

* * *

**Chapter 19: And Everything Is Torn Apart**

* * *

Dipping her quill in the red ink to correct the mistakes on her student's essay, Donny rubbed her eyes with one hand as she fought back a yawn. The cup of strong coffee on the desk called to her as she read the first paragraph of the essay. She glanced up when she heard the noise that signaled the front door to the school had been opened. She never liked having to wake up earlier than usual to grade papers, but she loved her job too much to ever complain.

She went back to grading the papers in front of her and didn't even look up when the door to the office opened. "Morning, Hermione," she said distractedly as she crossed out a misspelled word.

"Ach, lass, ye know thass not my name," Oliver's voice said from the doorway, his deep voice startling Donny from her work.

She smiled widely at him and jumped up from behind the desk to run straight into his open arms. She realized how sappy and completely, sentimentally foolish she must have looked, but she frankly didn't care once she had his strong arms wrapped around her, his overwhelming, musky scent making her giddy with joy.

"What are you doing here?" she asked into his chest. "I thought you wouldn't be back for another two weeks!"

"The Mediterranean Tour was cancelled," he explained, pulling her back slightly and capturing her chin between his fingers. "I've missed ye terribly, Donatella. Don't I get a kiss, then?"

She grabbed his face between her hands and kissed him soundly, knocking the breath out of the both of them. She drew back, laughing slightly as she threw her arms around his neck in a cheerful hug. "Why was the tour cancelled? Not that I'm complaining."

He leaned against the desk and dragged her over to stand between his legs as he wrapped his arms around her waist. "Well, we played and defeated Cyprus and Greece, and we were supposed to play Italy, but they withdrew themselves from the tournament once they realized that the Spanish team and the Lebanese team were droppin' out due to some political things they have goin' on there."

"Well, thank goodness for stubborn politicians," she smiled. "How long are you staying here?"

"The season is over, lass," he said with a grin. "We have a summer leave until the first of August."

"That's only a month!" she said with wide eyes. "Then you go back on tour?"

He shook his head and ran his finger down her nose to her lips. "August is when our seasonal trainin' begins."

"So, that means you won't be travelling?" she asked hopefully.

"Not for a long while," he replied, "and thass if we even win the qualifying games in December."

"Oh, you'll win, Woodie. You always win," she said with a cheeky smile. "Now, you have three weeks of kissing to make up for. Let's get started."

He laughed and obliged her, bringing her closer to him as he tasted her over and over.

"You can't kiss Miss Donny! Kissing is yucky!" Wolf Lupin said from below them.

"Yeah! You can't kiss at school!" Zane agreed, standing next to his best friend and staring up at the couple.

Donny stepped back from Oliver's grasp and laughed nervously at the two boys and then at Hermione who was standing in the doorway with a smirk she could have only picked up from her husband. "Good morning."

"Oh, it certainly is a good morning," Hermione said, taking off her cloak and setting it on a chair. "Boys, why don't you go ahead into the classroom and set out the parchment for art time."

"Race you!" Zane yelled, and in less than a second, the boys had sped out of the room, giggling as they ran.

"I'm so sorry, Hermione, honestly," Donny said with a hint of a blush.

"What are you apologizing for? Those boys aren't supposed to be in this office anyway. They are suspiciously quiet and very stealthy to get in here without you two noticing," Hermione replied as she picked up a folder and quill from the desk before walking back to the door. "I'll lock the door on my way out."

Donny watched Hermione leave the room and then heard the click of the lock. She turned back to Oliver and smiled. "Don't I have the greatest job?"

"Ye're talkin' to someone who plays their favorite sport for a livin', lass," he said, grinning. "But if I ever injure myself, I'll be lookin' for a position here."

"Oh! Don't put ideas into my head! How awesome would it be if you and I worked here together? You could be the physical education director and I could, of course, keep my job as teacher and then we can sneak away during recess and make out in the supply closet…"

Oliver kissed her, mostly because she had started to babble and kissing her was the fastest way to get her to stop. Also, because he wanted to.

* * *

Draco ran a hand through his hair as he sat back and surveyed his latest design. It had taken nearly five days for him to get everything just right, but he finally had exactly what he had started out to accomplish. His company had been asked to plan a new park that would cater only to the magic community and that would be located in Hogsmeade. Draco had taken the job as it was his role to take on the harder assignments as boss.

He rolled up the large sheet of parchment and sent the prints to his second-in-command who would review the design and then correct any mistakes. _Psh… as if I make mistakes._

He was just about to grab his things and leave for the day when Blaise walked into his office.

"What brings you here, Zabini?" Draco asked, standing up and greeting his friend.

Blaise smiled and took a seat in front of Draco's desk. "Just visiting, mate. It's been ages since I've seen you, and we have to catch up on your custody case."

"Why was I hoping that this would just be a social visit?" Draco grimaced.

"We'll have plenty of time for those once we work everything out with you, Pansy and Zane," Blaise explained. "Now, how's everything at home?"

"Everything's going well," Draco said honestly. "School ended two weeks ago, but now Zane has summer day camp at school. It's basically the same thing they were doing during the school year, except now they just do more centers and recess."

"Centers?" Blaise asked with a smile. "Never mind, you can explain later. How is your wife?"

"She has a name," Draco said, "and Hermione is great."

Blaise shook his head. "Sorry, mate, it's still just really hard to come to terms with it all. But if you love her, then that's all that matters, right?"

"Yes," Draco replied simply. "I do love her."

It was the first time he had honestly meant it; every other time he had said it was to give the illusion for their fake marriage. He smiled secretly and went back to paying attention to what Blaise was saying.

Blaise grimaced at the tender words and scratched at his goatee. "How's Zane?"

"Constantly up to no good," Draco said with a smile. "I think some snot-nosed punk at school taught him the mirror game where he repeats everything you say. I ended up putting a silencing spell on him and sent him to his room to teach him a lesson."

"That's a great game," Blaise grinned. "Did you ever try it on your father?"

"I wouldn't be alive if I did," Draco replied with a laugh.

"So, how are the inspections going?"

"They're ok, I guess. Our DMP isn't very threatening, but she tries. We had an inspection a few days ago, and she came when we were putting Zane to bed, so she ended up interviewing Hermione and me. It was interesting."

"Interesting? Please, elaborate," Blaise said as he propped his feet up on Draco's desk.

"She asked us things like what we do in our free time, and our views on punishment. We had separate interviews, but when she was finished with Hermione, I think she just wanted to go home and cry. My wife tends to be very defensive about our parenting skills. She's like a mother dragon."

"Yes, well, I got my interview last night. As Zane's godfather, I supposedly have an opinion in which parent Zane is better off with. Rest assured that I waxed poetic on the many flawless qualities you have."

"Good to know," Draco said with a wry smile. "I just can't wait until these interviews and inspections come to an end. They leave me so stressed."

"I do have good news," Blaise went on. "I stayed late one night at the Ministry and went into your files regarding the custody case. Usually, no one but your DMP can have access to them, so I had to bend the rules a bit."

"You wouldn't be a Slytherin if you didn't," Draco replied.

"So, I checked out what was going on with Pansy's visits and her reports aren't as great as yours."

"Really?"

"Yep. Apparently, her DMP doesn't like Pansy's attitude and thinks her husband is a vain, smug man," Blaise said with a small laugh. "Sounds a bit like you, mate."

"You're hilarious, Zabini," Draco replied dryly. "So you think that I'll end up with Zane?"

"There really is no doubt about it. You've always been the better parent, which is surprising as hell, let me tell you, but nonetheless, I'm more than sure that you'll never have to worry about that hag and her gold-digging husband again."

* * *

Hermione tentatively reached for her wand and finally took a breath to utter the spell that would knock the front door to the Malfoy manor. It was a Saturday afternoon, the second Saturday of her fourth month married to Draco.

She really had no idea what had pushed her to come here and do what she was about to do, but she really had no one else to turn to… She couldn't just sit idly by and twiddle her thumbs as her emotions drove her crazy, as her husband went each day not knowing what was ripping her apart.

She smiled when one of the house-elves opened the door. This particular house-elf was wearing a bright pink bikini top and a pair of blue parachute pants. He looked quite ridiculous, but looked extremely happy. Hermione couldn't find any fault in that, much to her chagrin, so she asked the small elf if Narcissa was home.

"Oh, yes, my mistress is home!" the house-elf squeaked. "Follow me, young mistress."

Hermione stepped into the grand foyer of the manor and followed the scurrying house-elf up the stairs. She was led into the drawing room where Narcissa sat at a desk, writing quickly on a piece of parchment.

"Mistress Narcissa, a guest for you," the house-elf announced and then quickly left the room.

Narcissa looked up from her letter and smiled brightly at her daughter-in-law. "Hermione, what a pleasant surprise! Please, come in and sit."

Hermione sat down on the couch while Narcissa rolled up the parchment she was writing on and sat down next to her. "Now, my dear, tell me, how are you?"

"I'm fine, and you?" she asked with a small smile.

"I'm wonderful, darling. I just finished writing a letter to an old friend of mine from school who I haven't spoken to in years, but enough about me. How is everything at home? Are you and Draco still getting along?"

"Yes, I'd say we are. We still argue over little, stupid things, but that's expected," Hermione said slowly. "I actually came here to talk to you about something. Um, I really had no one else to talk about this to."

"Well, you can talk to me about anything, darling."

"I really don't know how to say this, but…" she sighed. "I know I told you a few weeks ago that, er, Draco and I had slept together."

Narcissa nodded and gestured for Hermione to go on.

_God, this is awkward; she's his mother for pity's sake._

"You mentioned something about how difficult it can be to separate emotions from sex. I didn't think it would happen to me; I thought I had more control over my feelings…"

"But, you fell in love," Narcissa sighed.

Hermione looked down at her hands and nodded silently.

"I'm assuming you haven't told him," Narcissa guessed.

"No, I haven't, and I don't think… I don't think I can," Hermione said with a sniff. "What if he doesn't feel the same? I've fallen in love with him and I don't think I would be able to handle the pain of knowing he doesn't feel anything for me… I wouldn't be able to handle the pain of knowing he only wanted me around to help raise Zane."

"Oh, what a bunch of rubbish," Narcissa scolded. "You'll never know anything unless you gather your courage and say something to him. Weren't you a Gryffindor? Aren't Gryffindors supposed to be brave? I've met Slytherins with more nerve than this, and Slytherins are truly some of the biggest cowards out there."

"Weren't you a Slytherin?" Hermione asked.

That earned her a smirk. "Darling, I married Lucius Malfoy and raised the boy-devil, Draco Malfoy. I should get a bloody award, parade, and trophy for bravery."

Hermione had never heard Narcissa use a single derogatory word in all the time she'd known her, so she couldn't help but laugh. "Yes, I suppose you should."

"Let's get back to you. Now, you are afraid that if you tell Draco your feelings, that he will not return them? You're afraid of rejection?"

"It's not just the rejection. It's the fact that if I tell him now and he doesn't love me back, then I still have to live with him for two and a half months. Do you understand how awkward that would be? I'd be crushed and still have to live with him."

"Hmm, that does pose a problem," Narcissa said thoughtfully, tapping a manicured finger against her lips. "In all actuality, Hermione, I don't think you should really worry so much about that happening. I've had a feeling for quite some time that my son has taken a liking to you."

"A liking? That doesn't mean he loves me, Narcissa," Hermione said with a small sigh. "I just… I don't know how it happened, but I no longer hate him. I mean, when he came back to England, every time I saw him, I saw the boy that I had loathed for so long. Now, when I look at him, I just see the man… I see the man I've come to love."

"Have you never taken a chance? I know you have! You took a chance in marrying Draco; you took a chance by agreeing to help him raise his son. You went against your earlier hatred of him to help him out when he needed it the most. In my honest opinion, darling, I don't see how he _couldn't_ have fallen in love with you. You make him a better man and you make him happier than I've ever seen him. He was a fun-loving child until his father brainwashed him with all of that pureblood supremacy nonsense. You 

brought back the boisterous and blissful child in him that I thought I would never see again. I thank you for that, Hermione. I thank you dearly."

"I… I didn't…"

"Oh, don't go denying it, darling. You yourself have told me how the two of you fight less these days and that his temper has been under control for the time being. I don't want to tell you how to live your life and I don't want to push you into anything you don't want to do, but I would like nothing better than to have you brought into this family permanently."

Hermione was actually stunned to silence with those words.

"You're a marvelous mother to my grandson and an equally incredible wife to my son. I've come to adore you, Hermione. I've been outnumbered by the men in this family for so long, and I've never told anyone this before, but I've always wanted a little girl to spoil and love just as much as I did my son. You've come to be that little girl I was never able to have… oh, look at me getting all misty-eyed and utterly emotional, please forgive me."

Narcissa was nearly knocked back with the force of Hermione's hug. She held the girl in her arms for a moment, smiling through her silly tears.

Hermione finally pulled away, a large smile lighting up her face. "I'm going to tell him. I'm going to tell him how I feel and if he doesn't feel the same, then I'm going to do everything I can to make him see that we're right for each other. I can't imagine living a life without him… I can never go back to my lonely flat without him and Zane to look after. I just can't do that, and I don't care how long it takes me to finally win his love, but damn it, I'm going to fight for it."

"There's the girl I've come to cherish! I just knew you had that bravery hidden somewhere temporarily. If anyone can butt heads with my husband at the tender age of fifteen and live to see the next day, then they can't be anything but immensely courageous."

"Oh, Narcissa, you do know how to make me blush," Hermione said with a lighthearted laugh. She exhaled a pent-up breath and smiled again. "I think I'll do something special tomorrow, you know, and then I'll tell him."

"Would you like me to watch Zane tomorrow?"

"That would be wonderful. I'll bring him over after we've had dinner, and do you think he could spend the night? He's been asking to sleep over at the manor since the last time he was here."

"Of course he can. His grandfather spoils him to pieces, in case you didn't know. That's the secret to why he always wants to be over here," Narcissa said with a sly grin.

"Oh? And it has nothing to do with the fact that _Gamma_ gives him many, many sweets?"

Narcissa's smile grew and she shrugged casually. "Gamma chooses to refrain from commenting."

After a cup of tea and several hours talking, Hermione finally left the manor, her heart feeling light and her step with an extra bounce as she made her way back to the flat. She unlocked the front door and stepped into the dark entryway, closing the door behind her. It was almost nine in the evening and she made as little noise as possible as she walked into the living room.

The television was on; one of the movies Fred and George had bought for Zane was playing. It featured the big, singing dinosaur that Draco loathed, so the twins had immediately bought it, promising to buy more in the future. Hermione stepped up to the couch and felt her lips twitch into a smile as she found Draco and Zane curled up on the couch, sleeping.

They looked remarkably alike when they slept, innocence written across their faces. Too bad those innocent looks were incredibly deceiving. She turned off the television and went back to the couch where she gently lifted Zane away from his father's hold, accidentally waking Draco in the process.

He blinked up at her and gave her a small smile as he got up and followed her to put Zane in his bed.

When they reached their bedroom, Hermione changed out of her robes and into her comfortable house-clothes. Draco lay back on the bed with his legs dangling over the edge, his hands behind his head, watching her change.

"How did your errands go?" he asked.

She ran a brush through her hair and winced when the bristles encountered a knot the size of tumbleweed. "They went well. I got a lot done. How was your day with Zane?"

"Tiring," he said with a small laugh. "I've forgotten how much energy that kid has."

"That's because you haven't dealt with him on your own in so long," she said, smiling.

He snorted at that and closed his eyes. He was surprised to feel the warm body loom over his and the soft lips press against his own. Hermione didn't usually initiate their lovemaking, but when she did, he reveled in it, taking all the caresses and sensual touches from the woman he loved without even thinking twice.

He grabbed her around the waist and settled her astride him as he sat up on the bed. Pulling away from her for a moment, he took in her flushed cheeks, swollen lips, and smiling eyes. "You're so fucking beautiful," he blurted. _Real smooth, Draco… you're a regular Casanova. You should write greeting cards, no, forget greeting cards, you should be writing rock ballads and goddamn poetry._

Hermione blinked at him and then burst out laughing. "Thank you, Draco. That's, uh, sweet."

"You can proceed to ignore me from here on out," he whispered against her neck. "When I'm aroused, I tend to say trite and idiotic things."

"You tend to say trite and idiotic things even when you're not aroused," she teased, flinching when he bit her. "Ouch! No biting until I say so!"

He laughed at that and dragged her onto the bed next to him where he proceeded to show her exactly how trite and idiotic his words could get.

As they came down from their sexual ecstasy, they lay by each other, listening to the sounds of their breathing. Emotions ran deep for the both of them, yet nothing gave them away.

"You know, you never did tell me who your first was," Hermione said after awhile, turning to her side to face him. "So, who was it?"

Draco grimaced and brought his hand up to run it through his hair. "I forgot about that."

"I know you did. That's why I'm reminding you now. My curiosity has not been sated," she said.

"Is it ever sated?" he snorted.

She ignored him and waited patiently for his response. When he didn't respond, she ventured a guess. "Was it Pansy?"

"Good God, no," he said with a frown. "I only slept with her once, and I was completely drunk when that happened."

"If not Pansy, then who was it?"

"Well, you don't know her," he said slowly. "I was sixteen, and she was uh…"

"She was what?"

"You should report for the Daily Prophet, you're so inquisitive," he said. When she glared at him silently, he sighed and went back to answering her question. "She was one of my mother's friends."

"You mean she was one of your mother's friend's daughters?" she asked with a tilt of her head.

"Nope. She was one of my mother's friends. Actually, she was more of an acquaintance. She was over for tea or brunch or something like that, and it was in the summer, right before I was given my task to, uh, kill Dumbledore."

"Wait, how old was this acquaintance of your mother's?"

He bit back a laugh. "Thirty-two."

"Thirty-two!?"

"She had the biggest breasts I'd ever…"

"Draco!" Hermione gasped, a smile fighting against her lips.

"What? I was sixteen! She was experienced and she seduced me, and frankly, I would have been an idiot to turn her down. Did I mention her huge tits?"

"You're so crass," she said with a roll of her eyes. "Did you really lose your virginity to a woman twice your age?"

He nodded and then smiled. "Blaise was so jealous."

"I'll never understand boys," she said. "Your minds work in such strange ways."

"Can't argue there," he replied with a yawn. "Now, close that mouth of yours and let's sleep."

"You're such a romantic," she whispered sarcastically. "Before you fall asleep, I want to tell you not to make any plans for tomorrow afternoon."

"Why? What have we got planned?"

"Just don't plan anything for then. Got it?"

"Got it." His interest was suddenly piqued and as he drifted off to sleep, he wondered what his wife was up to…

* * *

Zane watched from his seat on the couch as his mummy went out onto the balcony. She loved to go out there and enjoy the view from their place on the second floor. She was looking very, very pretty today. She was always pretty, but today she was smiling a lot and that made her very, very pretty. His daddy had gone flying as he usually did on Sunday mornings. One day, Zane would get to go with his daddy to fly a broom. That day couldn't come fast enough.

He saw Hermione wave at him from her place on the balcony where she was watering the flowers that grew there. He waved back and smiled at her. Rosie sitting next to him, waved as well. That dinosaur could do anything.

Zane heard the front door open and close prompting him to stand on the couch and face the front hall to see who had come in.

"Hi, Daddy!" he said, taking a jump on the couch.

Draco propped his broom up against the couch and came around to sit next to his son. His hair was dark with perspiration, and his shirt was sticking to him in places. Zane jumped on him anyway and proceeded to hug him. "You're all wet, Daddy!"

"Because I'm sweaty," Draco laughed, "and now you're getting all sweaty. Mummy is going to be upset if you have to take another bath."

"Mummy looks very, very pretty today," Zane mentioned, diverting the conversation from anything bath-related. One bath a day was enough for heaven's sake!

Draco nodded and looked over his shoulder to see Hermione out on the balcony. "Did she tell you that you're going to spend the night with Gamma and Gampa tonight?"

"Yes! It's going to be so much fun!"

"Ok, mate, I'm going to go take a shower. If I don't, your mum will put me in time-out for getting the couch all sweaty."

Zane laughed at that. "You're silly! Mummy doesn't put you in time-out, because you're a growmup!"

"Ah, Zane, you're getting too smart for me," Draco replied, placing a kiss on his son's head.

Zane leaned back on the couch as he watched his daddy leave the living room. He was just about to go and ask his mummy to put the dinosaur movie on the television when he noticed the broom propped up on the couch, forgotten by his daddy to be put away.

His quickly checked to make sure his mummy couldn't see him staring at the broom. If she caught him staring, she might notice it and take it away… and then he wouldn't be able to touch it!

He pretended to play with Rosie, his peripheral vision focused on the shiny broom handle peeking over the top of the couch.

"Hermione!" Draco's muffled voice sounded from the shower.

Hermione walked back into the living room and looked at Zane. "Did your father just call for me?"

Zane nodded quickly and hoped she didn't see the handle of the broomstick. He smiled slightly as she hurried off down the hall and into the master bedroom.

He couldn't believe his luck! The shiny broomstick was so close and there were absolutely no adults around to tell him he couldn't touch it. What was so bad about touching it? It wouldn't even hurt him, and it was so shiny!

He glanced down the hallway and saw the door to the master bedroom still closed. He jumped off of the couch and ran to the back of the couch where the broomstick stood in all its glory. It was even more beautiful than he remembered.

Would anyone really know if he just took one little seat on the broom? Nobody would ever find out… He grabbed the handle of the broom and smiled wider as the vibration rushed through his arm. The broom was amazingly lightweight and he lifted it until it hovered next to him, low enough for him to swing a leg over just like he'd seen Daddy do so many times before.

The vibrations tickled him, but his laughs abruptly came to a halt when his feet left the ground. His eyes widened as he realized that the broom was slowly lifting off of the ground, taking him with it. Maybe if he pushed down on it, then it would back to the ground. Nope. Didn't work. He wasn't strong enough to direct it to go back down. Daddy was going to be very mad!

His breathing and heartbeat quickened as the broom started moving forward, towards the balcony.

Usually, he wasn't allowed to be on the balcony and he never did like going out there, but the glass door had been left open when Hermione had suddenly left. The broom was getting closer and closer to the balcony and Zane gripped the handle harder, his eyes filling with tears as he realized he was going to be in very big trouble.

The broom was suddenly on the balcony and slowly moving over the railing, out into the open air. Zane gripped the handle even harder until his knuckles were completely white.

He didn't expect the sudden gust of wind, and he didn't expect the broom to start slipping out from under him. He screamed for his daddy, and before he knew it, he was falling…

* * *

"Did you call my name?" Hermione asked as she walked into the bathroom.

Draco's head popped out from behind the shower curtain. "There's no shampoo."

She went to the linen closet and grabbed an extra bottle of shampoo, handing it to him when he stuck a dripping a hand out. "So, did you have fun flying today?" she asked as she began to tidy up the bathroom.

"Same as usual," came his slightly muffled reply.

She picked up his dirty clothes from the floor and went into the bedroom to put them in the laundry basket. Sometimes, she felt like she was mother to two boys instead of one. She started folding the clean laundry she had placed in the room earlier, wanting to get everything out of the way before tonight, when she would finally tell him that she loved him.

Draco walked into the bedroom a moment later and wiggled his eyebrows at her as she stared at his wet torso. "You're such a voyeur," he taunted with a laugh. "Little Miss Pervert."

She threw a clean shirt at his head and stuck her tongue out at him while he put it on.

He had just looped the button through the hole in his khaki pants when they both heard the scream. They looked at each other, worry evident in their eyes and then ran out of the room, following the source of the scream.

In one terrifying moment, Draco saw the empty living room, the missing broom, the open door to the balcony. He bit back the rising bile in his throat as he and Hermione ran out onto the balcony.

They saw the broom hovering in the air right in front of them, and with heavy hearts they looked down over the railing, already afraid of what they would see.

They knew what to expect, but nothing could adequately prepare them to see Draco's only son sprawled out on the concrete sidewalk, eyes closed and blood staining the ground around him…


	20. I Don't Want to Lose You Now

Disclaimer: All Harry Potter related characters, places and themes belong to J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury and Scholastic.

A/N: thanks for all the reviews, guys! The chapter title comes from the song "Someone to Save You" by OneRepublic.

* * *

**Chapter 20: I Don't Want to Lose You Now**

* * *

"Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy?"

Draco and Hermione quickly looked up when they heard the Healer's voice. They had been sitting, pacing, standing, and leaning against the wall of the waiting area on the ground floor of St. Mungo's for the past hour, and their nerves were beyond frayed.

The elderly Healer approached them and gave them a small smile. "You can go in to see him now, but I must warn you that he's still sleeping and probably won't wake for another hour or so."

They barely heard what he said as they made their way into the dim hospital room. Zane lay on the hospital bed looking very small against the large, white sheets around him. His skin was paler than usual, but slowly gaining color around some of the assorted scrapes and scratches. A blue box stood on a pole next to his bed and gave off a green glow every few seconds.

Hermione was the first to make a sound as she released a shuddered sob, walking slowly to the hospital bed. Draco stood right behind her, unable to take his eyes away from his son's still body. As Hermione's shoulders shook with silent tears, he put a hand on her back and a hand on Zane's arm.

"You're lucky you brought him in so quickly," the Healer interrupted from the other side of the bed. "His head wound could have resulted in permanent damage, but you're also lucky that the bushes broke his fall."

"He's going to be alright?" Draco asked, never moving his gaze away from his son.

"I expect a full recovery," the Healer said jovially. "He didn't lose too much blood, but we gave him a blood replenishing potion just to be sure. He broke his wrist and dislocated his shoulder, but we fixed him right up, and the only things we have to worry about now are the scrapes and bruises. One of our matron-witches will be in shortly to heal them with a simple salve and spell."

"Thank you," Hermione said quietly with a sniffle.

"We have a public floo down the hall in case you'd like to contact anyone, keep them updated on your son's progress," the Healer said as he walked out of the room.

When the Healer left the room, the couple stayed silent as they watched Zane. The only noise that broke the silence was Hermione's occasional sniffle and staggered breath.

"I'm going to floo your parents," she finally said after a few moments.

Draco nodded and stepped back to let her pass, unable to do anything but stare at the child on the bed… _his_ child… his flesh and blood… his life. Zane looked so peaceful, lying there, sleeping, his lips set in a small pout and his face decorated with four different scrapes along his jaw, cheeks and forehead.

Draco wasn't a believer in muggle theology or even magical mythology, but he sent up a prayer of thanks to whatever controlled their destinies and fates. Something or someone out there was looking out for his son when his tiny body crashed into the bushes first instead of directly onto the sidewalk. The advancements of magical medicine had made it easy for the Healers to quickly patch up his son without any complications.

He stretched out his hand and pushed away the dark blond strands falling into Zane's closed eyes. His entire heart was held in his son's small hands, with just a little left over to fall into the hands of his wife. He couldn't ask for a more idealistic family, for a more perfect existence. If he had lost his son… his life would have never been the same. Sure, he would have had Hermione… but she didn't love him back, and her presence in their lives was almost coming to an end.

As he stood at his son's bedside, he vowed to himself and to his son that he would not let his small family fall apart. He would make sure Hermione knew how he felt about her. He loved her and needed her in his life, and not just as a mother for his son, but as a wife for _him_. He was going to be selfish and want something because he wanted it and not just because his son needed it.

If she didn't feel the same way for him, then he would convince her that he couldn't live without her. He would court her until she loved him, until she forgot about their past and embraced a future he would try and make perfect.

He leaned down and gently kissed his son's forehead, smiling slightly when his heart filled with hope and anticipation. He would never let his son come to such harm again, and he would have Hermione in their lives permanently…

* * *

Donny felt her eyes burn with unshed tears, yet she refused to give in to the urge to weep. Oliver was a few steps behind her as she walked towards the information desk at St. Mungo's. He caught up to her and placed a comforting hand on her waist

"Hi, yes, I'm looking for a patient," Donny said quickly.

"Last name?" the lady behind the information desk asked distractedly.

"Malfoy," Donny replied.

She felt Oliver stiffen beside her and his hand squeeze against her waist.

"First name?" the lady asked, running her tongue over her teeth and winking at Oliver once she recognized him.

"Zane," Donny said impatiently.

"He's in room 421 down this hallway and to the left," she answered.

Donny quickly uttered a 'thank you' and grabbed Oliver's hand to drag him down the hall.

"Ye never told me Zane was a Malfoy," Oliver said, slowing Donny's quick stride with a tug of his hand.

Donny whirled around and gave him a confused stare. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"I'm no' exactly friends with his father," he replied. "The Malfoy family supported ye-know-who and the younger one was a little, cheatin', spoiled brat when we were in school."

"I wouldn't care if he was you-know-who's boyfriend," Donny said in a fierce whisper, her eyes now burning with anger. "He's a dear friend and he's married to Hermione. He's obviously changed his ways since the time you were in school, and this doesn't even matter! His son is in the hospital! Now is not the time to worry about schoolboy grudges!"

"Iss no' about schoolboy grudges, Donatella, it goes deeper than that," he tried explaining.

"Deeper how?" she asked impatiently.

"He always cheated during our Quidditch matches," he finally said with a triumphant look.

She blinked at him twice and then narrowed her eyes. "Listen here, Oliver Wood, and you listen closely… I don't give two figs about some stupid school matches that don't have any significance on our lives now. If you can't be civil to him and to his family, then you might as well turn around and leave. I've grown very close to his family and I won't stop my association with them. So, if you want me, you'll have to deal with them, too."

This time, Oliver blinked twice at her and then clenched his jaw in defeat. By God, that little fireball he called a girlfriend had a way of putting him in his place. Some tiny, tiny part of his brain knew he was being a tad immature for holding grudges, but the rest of his brain (the part dominated by Quidditch… and sex) said that he could be civil to the Malfoys whenever he was around them and then secretly despise them when alone.

"Verra well," he said with a forced smile. "I apologize."

"Hmph," she quickly harrumphed and then continued their walk to the designated room.

They entered the room a few moments later to find Hermione and Draco at their positions next to Zane's bed. Lucius and Narcissa sat on a chaise lounge near the window. Narcissa was looking down at her hands and dabbing at her nose with a handkerchief. Lucius looked bored.

"How is he?" Donny asked quietly, trying her hardest to keep her emotions in check. There really was no need for another weepy woman in the room.

"He's going to be fine," Hermione said with a small smile. She was sitting in a chair to Zane's right and holding his tiny hand in hers. "I'm glad you could make it."

Donny nodded silently and walked towards the bed to wrap Hermione in a hug. "Don't ever scare me like that again."

"Who is your friend, dear?" Narcissa suddenly asked, blinking rapidly and giving everyone a smile.

"Oh, this is Oliver," Donny said, quickly introducing him to everyone. When she was through, she took a seat on the floor next to Hermione. She was glad that Oliver didn't act like anything was out of the ordinary but just extended kind comments to the Malfoys. "So, what exactly happened? You were a bit vague when you flooed us," Donny asked Hermione.

"Yes, what _did_ happen?" Narcissa asked. "How did Zane fall?"

Draco and Hermione both glanced at the floor, their postures tensing with unease. No one expected them to blurt out, "It was my fault," at the same time.

They quickly looked back up at each other, their brows furrowed and their mouths slightly open in disbelief.

"What are you talking about?" Draco asked incredulously. "If I hadn't left my broom out…"

"If I hadn't left the balcony door open," Hermione cut in sharply. "This would have never happened."

"I should have put my broom away, but I didn't," Draco said with a note of finality.

"I should have closed the balcony door behind me, but _I_ didn't," she replied back. "Your son is lying in the hospital because of me! Don't even think about taking the blame because you think it will make me feel better, because it won't!"

Draco exhaled in annoyance. "I'm not taking the blame to make you feel better. He doesn't like going out onto the balcony, so because I left the broom out, he decided to take it for a ride and it happened to go out over the railing."

"You're being impossible," Hermione muttered.

"And you're being stu--."

"Enough!" Lucius's silky voice interrupted their spat. "The sound of your voices is getting on my absolute last nerve. Now, do us all a favor and keep your mouths shut."

"Really, father," Draco frowned, "stay out…"

"Do not finish that statement," Lucius replied sharply. "The both of you need to realize that what's happened has happened and that nothing can change it. Zane is going to be fine, so the blame game can end now. To keep you from further argument, I'll let you know that it's frankly both your faults. If the 

two of you hadn't been careless, none of this would have happened. The blame can be divided equally amongst yourselves."

"Oh, Lucius do be quiet," Narcissa snapped. "Things happen and we can't interfere with what fate has planned. All we can do is be grateful when things turn out for the best, which they have. Zane is going to be fine. Hermione and Draco now know never to leave a broom out again and to always close the balcony door behind them. Parents learn from their mistakes, and you of all people should know that."

Lucius curled his lip at his wife and grasped the head of his cane harder to keep a lid on his temper.

"When I was seven I wet my pants in front of my entire class back in primary school," Donny said from the floor. "They called me 'sprinkler' until I was twelve."

Everyone in the room stared at her with confused looks.

She stared back at them with an innocent expression. "What? Aren't we trying to make each other feel as uncomfortable as possible? I thought that was the game."

Narcissa was the first laugh, rolling her eyes and shaking her head. "Donatella, my darling, you surely are a delight."

"I do try," Donny shrugged with a smile. "Now, I'm going to go grab some drinks. Can I bring you all something?"

"Just some water," Narcissa said.

"Some whiskey or cognac would be welcome," Lucius muttered

Donny raised an eyebrow at the older aristocrat. "Water it is."

Narcissa patted her husband's hand and watched Donny and Oliver leave the room. "Isn't that the young man that Donatella never seems to stop talking about?" Narcissa asked.

"Yes," Hermione responded. "They've been dating for a while now."

"Well, how splendid! She deserves to be happy," Narcissa said with a nod. She paused for a moment and glanced at her son and daughter-in-law, noticing their tense dispositions and frowns. "Are the two of you alright?"

"I'm fine, mother," Draco bit out.

"Don't you take that tone of voice with your mother," Lucius hurled back.

Draco rolled his eyes and his frown deepened. He looked up at Hermione and she looked at him. She gave him a tentative smile, assuring him that she wasn't upset. He gave her a small grin back, love filling his heart for her.

Lucius sneered at them. He muttered to his wife, "They need to stop making goo-goo eyes at each other before I vomit. It's utterly disgusting."

"It's utterly romantic," she replied.

He sighed and ran a hand down his face. "The only other sane person in this room is unfortunately unconscious at the moment and, sadly, under the age of five. I really cannot wait until he wakes."

"Neither can I, darling," Narcissa assured him before placing her head on his shoulder. He always was such a softie. She also knew how to deal with him. She smiled wickedly to herself and inwardly celebrated when his hand covered hers. What a sap!

Everyone looked up when the door swung open, expecting Donny and Oliver to be back, but the elderly Healer stepped in instead, his face grim and a young matron-witch close behind him. They stayed silent as the matron-witch checked on Zane and checked the box next to his bed. "Everything is on track," she said before leaving the room.

The Healer, Healer Khan, a brilliant wizard from Karachi, took a deep breath before looking at Draco and Hermione. "You have some guests," he said slowly. "I'm obligated to let them in."

Before he could say anything else, the door opened again to reveal Rhonda Westin, their dowdy and inept DMP, two burly gentlemen behind her, and Blaise Zabini, looking angrier than anyone had ever seen him.

"I believe I told you it was unnecessary to bring these men with you, Miss Westin. You're embarrassing everyone, including yourself," Blaise said in a hiss, continuing an argument he must have started out in the hall.

"What's going on?" Hermione asked, her heart beating an odd cadence against her ribcage.

"Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy, I'm so sorry about what happened to your son," Rhonda said, pushing her glasses up her nose with her finger and looking nervously at Lucius and Narcissa. The two of them were glaring at her all too obviously. "I was informed by Matron-Witch Ashford that Zane was brought in this morning. According to policy, the hospital must inform the Ministry when a child on the Watch-Guard list is hospitalized."

"The Watch-Guard list?" Draco asked slowly.

Blaise sneered at Rhonda. "It's the list of all the children and families that are going through DMP inspections. When a child on that list ends up in any hospital in the magical community, your DMP is alerted and so is your Judicial Advocate."

"Zane is going to survive, sir?" Rhonda asked Healer Khan, who had stayed silent.

He frowned in disapproval and nodded curtly. "Zane is as good as new at the moment. He's just sleeping off the potions we've given him. Every two hours I'm giving him a pain-relieving draught which keeps him asleep. He should awaken in about four to six hours."

"I've looked over his medical chart…" she started to say.

"You had no right to do that," Healer Khan said angrily. "The patient's chart is only for the eyes of the hospital staff."

Rhonda gulped, pushing her glasses up again. "Actually, as Zane is on the Watch-Guard list, his records are deemed accessible to his DMP, which is me."

"Why are you here?" Lucius finally asked. He never did like the hemming and hawing people exhibited in dire situations.

Her eyes widened in fear at being addressed by the eldest Malfoy. "Um… I'm actually here for some unpleasant business. I'm afraid that I am duty-bound to inform you that Zane's custody case has come to an end."

"The six months aren't over yet," Hermione said nervously, her hand gripping Zane's harder. "We still have a little over two months before the inspection period is over."

"Due to this unfortunate circumstance, the fact that Zane nearly died in your care, the Ministry has decided to end the inspection period and grant full custody to Zane's biological mother."

"Excuse me?" Hermione nearly screeched. "You're going to give our son to that deranged woman?!"

Rhonda's eyes shifted nervously around the room. "Uh… it's not me. The Department of Social and Family Services has decided it would be best for Mrs. D'Aggostino to have full custody of her son. The papers have been filed and signed, and as of an hour ago, you are no longer the rightful guardians of Zane."

The slight buzzing sound coming from the machine next to Zane's bed was the only sound after Rhonda's startling announcement. Nobody dared to say anything, only dropped jaws, wide eyes and several glares were exchanged.

"You're not serious," Narcissa said after a moment. "You cannot possibly be serious."

Rhonda bit the inside of her cheek. "I am very serious. Mrs. D'Aggostino has asked that her son be left in the care of the hospital until she can portkey from France," she cleared her throat, "which means, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"Leave?" Draco croaked, his mind unable to comprehend everything that was going on. He looked at Blaise, needing to know that there was something that could be done.

Blaise gave his oldest friend a sad shake of his head. "The official papers state that as you two are no longer Zane's legal guardians, you have no right to be with him." Blaise lowered his head and crossed his 

arms over his chest. "It has been documented that you two are a threat to Zane's safety and that you are to stay away from him until another custody case can be determined to settle any joint-custody agreements."

"When… how long… when can I see my son again?" Draco stammered.

"You can file for joint-custody in a year," Rhonda replied nervously.

"A year?!" Hermione and Draco cried at the same time.

"I'm sorry," Rhonda repeated.

"There has to be something… anything," Hermione tried. "You can't take him away from us. Pansy is an awful mother! She doesn't love her son and her inspections should prove what an unfit mother she is."

"Her inspections have proven to be adequate enough to raise a child," Rhonda mentioned. "She hasn't gotten stellar reviews by her DMP, but she also received Zane by default. As long as she never failed an inspection, she gets to have him because you two did fail."

"I absolutely won't accept this," Draco said stubbornly, his eyes narrowed and his jaw clenched. "You can't take him away from me."

"Draco, mate, you have no choice," Blaise said softly. "It was ordered and judged by a member of the Wizengamot who was following the case from the beginning. I tried everything I could to get an appeal, but they said we have to wait a year."

"I won't be able to see him for a year? A whole year?" Draco said choking on his words. "But… but he's my son! He's my goddamn son!"

"Draco," Lucius said calmly, coming to stand beside his son. "If they say we must leave, then we must leave."

Draco shook his head. "I can't leave him. They can't take him away from me."

Hermione blinked back tears, her vision turning red in her anger. How could this be happening? How could they even think of taking Zane away from them? Heredity be damned, she and Draco were Zane's true parents!

"Do we get to visit him, at the very least?" she had to ask.

Rhonda shook her head. "I'm sorry. There are no visitation rights until you file your petition for joint-custody."

A year from now, they would be able to see him again…

"Can we wait until he's awake to say goodbye?" she asked.

"It was decided that it would be best for Zane if you left while he was sleeping. It will have less psychological damage on him..."

"Don't you dare talk about psychological damage!" Hermione finally exploded. "You're going to take him from his loving parents and give him to a woman who has the mental capacity of a flag pole! She has never known how to take care of her son, and I swear to every soul in this universe that if she harms him in any way or makes him upset even the slightest bit, then I'll make every single employee of the Ministry wish they had never been born."

She glared at Rhonda and the two men with her. Turning around and facing Zane, she kissed his cheek and stroked her hand down his face, biting back a sob as she turned and left the room.

"You have to leave now, Mr. Malfoy," Rhonda said shakily. "I had to bring reinforcements in case you refused."

Draco glanced at the two men who could have body-doubled for Crabbe and Goyle. His fists squeezed at his side and then slowly unclenched, all his energy leaving him. He took one last look at his son, afraid that if he touched him he wouldn't be able to let go.

He pushed past the DMP and the two men and left the hospital room in a rush, Blaise following quickly after him.

Lucius and Narcissa left after Narcissa kissed her grandson and then gave Rhonda one of the coldest, wicked glares the poor woman had ever received in her life. Lucius may or may not have accidentally pressed his walking stick down onto the woman's shoe firmly as he passed.

* * *

"And there's no way you can fight this?" Donny asked as she sat in Draco and Hermione's living room.

Hermione shook her head.

"There has to be something." This came from Harry. He had come over as soon as he'd heard the news. Despite their differences over her marrying Draco, he was still one of Hermione's closest friends and wouldn't ever dream of not being there for her when she needed him. "Do you think if I said something, maybe they'd let you keep him?"

"Harry, I know how much you hate flaunting your status as the magic world's savior, so you don't have to do that," Hermione said tonelessly. "Plus, they would never give him back just because you want it so. The papers have been signed, Pansy arrived soon after we left, and she now has her son back."

Harry, Ron, Donny and Oliver stared at Hermione as she lay on her side on the couch, her legs curled up to her waist and her eyes blank as she stared at the wall across the room. She'd been like that since she arrived at the flat. Without Draco.

"Where's Malfoy?" Ron asked.

Hermione shook her head. "I don't know. I thought he apparated here, but he's not home."

"I hope he's ok," Donny said with a sigh. "Narcissa told me he wasn't at the manor when I flooed her. She told me that he'll be alright after a while on his own. She said he's not used to not getting his way."

"It completely destroyed him," Hermione said huskily, her throat clogged with unshed tears. "The look in his eyes when they told him that he'd have to wait a year to see his son…"

Her words trailed off and her features became even blanker, as if she refused to let any emotion take precedence on her face.

"You can all go home," she said after a long moment of silence. "You don't have to stay here with me. I'm fine."

"You're not fine," Ron and Harry said at the same time.

"I said I'm fine!" she snapped. "I'd like to be alone. Go!"

They looked at each other, not used to this side of Hermione. They didn't understand the extent of her feelings. Zane had become her son. He had become her son and then had been snatched away from her. She hated feeling useless. She hated feeling helpless. She couldn't do anything and she worried about her son. She worried about Draco, too.

Her four guests left silently, Donny leaving a glass of water and piece of fruit in front of Hermione to remind her to eat.

As the sun set, the room darkened without the benefit of any of the lights left on, leaving Hermione to slowly let her teardrops fall one by one as she became surrounded in her suffocating loneliness and despair.

* * *

Draco stared at the graffiti smeared across the brick wall of the dilapidated building. After aimlessly wandering the streets in London, he had found himself sitting on a rubbish bin in the alley behind a low-quality pub.

A rat scurried on its way, brushing up against his leg. Any other time, he probably would have squealed (in that manly sort of way, of course) and jumped up running. At that moment, though, he barely even blinked…

He didn't even know what to think about. It seemed as if his mind has been purposely thinking of random, inane things to avoid thinking about the crushing pain he knew he should be feeling. His thought process had gone from thinking about the ingredients in jelly beans, why some coins had ridges around them and others not, all the way to thinking about why some people had curly hair and others had straight hair.

After thinking about those clearly important, universal issues, his brain had shut down, leaving nothing to think about. He could only perceive things. He would look at the brick wall and think: this is a brick wall; there is graffiti on it; the graffiti colors consist of red, black and blue; there are 549 bricks in that brick wall…

As he walked, he counted the cracks on the sidewalk, not once thinking that his son had been sprawled on a sidewalk just that morning. No, he never let his brain think about that. It had more important things to do. He had to count the fucking cracks in the sidewalk. One crack. Two cracks. Three cracks. Four, five, six, seven sodding cracks.

Eventually, he would make it home. He had to make sure Hermione was there and that she was doing fine. She was his wife, the only woman he had ever loved, and he had abandoned her when they probably needed each other the most. He would think about what a prick he was later. Right now, he had to count more sidewalk cracks.

* * *

His tummy hurt.

That was Zane's first thought upon waking up. His tummy hurt and he felt very sleepy. He yawned and blinked slowly. His nose scrunched up in confusion when he realized he wasn't in his room at home. He wasn't in his mummy and daddy's room either. He wasn't in the living room or even at Gamma and Gampa's house! How strange.

He looked down at the bed surrounding him. It was a very big bed. The sheets were a deep gold color and the room he was in was also very big. Where were his mummy and daddy?

Oh no!

The broom! What had happened? Did his daddy catch him before he fell? Did he actually fly back into the flat? That couldn't be right; he remembered slipping off the handle. Where on earth was he?

"Oh, good, you're up," a familiar voice said from the doorway of the room.

Zane turned his head to the door and stared at Pansy as she walked in with a sweet smile on her face (a rare occurrence). What was Pansy doing there?

"Where are my mummy and daddy?" Zane asked. It hurt to talk. His voice was all itchy! His lower lip quivered as he stared at Pansy. He really, really wanted to see his mummy and daddy.

"Darling, I'm your mummy," Pansy said softly, approaching the bed and sitting on the edge of it.

"No, you're not," he insisted. "I'm thirsty. My throat hurts."

She picked up a glass of water from the bedside table and helped the little boy drink from it, afraid he'd spill the water on her Egyptian cotton sheets.

"Where's Mummy? Where's Daddy?" he asked again after he finished drinking.

"Zane, I am your mummy," she said again, placing the glass back on the bedside table. "Your daddy and his wife are in England at your old home. You live here now."

"I wanna go to them, please," he said. Maybe if he said please then she would take him to his mummy and daddy. He didn't want to be here anymore.

"I'm sorry, but you can't. This is your new house, Zane. You have your own room and you get to stay with your mummy and your new daddy!"

"My mummy is here?" he asked with a spurt of excitement. Where was his mummy? Was she hiding? "Can I see her?"

"Zane, I don't like repeating myself. I am your mummy. I have always been your mummy, and I will always be your mummy. That other woman is your step-mother."

He knew that word! Gampa and that lady with the glasses always called his mummy that word!

"Where's daddy?"

"You have a new daddy now," Pansy said with a big grin. "He can't wait to meet you."

She had no qualms with lying. The kid was only three years old; how would he know any different?

"I have to potty," he said urgently.

"Oh," she breathed nervously. "The bathroom is through that door over there." She pointed to a door on the wall to their right.

He slowly crawled out of bed and ran for the bathroom. He finished his business and while he washed his hands, just like daddy had taught him, he wondered how he would make Pansy understand that he wanted to go home.

He walked back out to the room and stood in the doorway between the bathroom and the bedroom, staring at Pansy as she fiddled with her nails.

"Pansy, I want to go home now," he said, trying to sound like his Gampa. When Gampa spoke like that, people did what he wanted.

"You mustn't call me Pansy, Zane; that's rude. You will call me mummy. Is that understood?"

He nodded quickly, not wanting to upset her. He just wanted to go home.

"Where's Rosie?" he asked. "I can't sleep without him."

"I don't know who that is," she said. "This is your room. You will sleep in here."

"This isn't my room," he insisted. Pansy was crazy; seriously, she didn't know anything! "Where are my toys? Where is Rosie?"

"We'll get you some toys tomorrow when you're feeling better. Now, come back into bed and get some sleep. You've been through a lot today and you need to rest."

"But… but I can't sleep without Rosie. Mummy and Daddy always tuck me in and give me a big kiss, and then they tell me a story for I can go to sleep!"

His eyes filled with tears and his tiny fists clenched at his sides. His Malfoy temper was starting to surface, and stupid Pansy wasn't listening to him!

"I can read you a story and I can give you a kiss, Zane," she tried. "I'm your mummy, now, so why can't you accept it?"

"I want Rosie!" he sobbed, his breath hitching as he cried. "I just want to go home!"

Pansy gulped nervously and glanced at the small boy crying in the doorway of the bathroom, his body wracked with sobs.

"If I will get you this Rosie thing, will you go to sleep?"

Zane stopped crying long enough to think about her offer. He wanted to go home. Rosie would be nice, but he really, really wanted to go home.

"Rosie is my di-osaur," he hiccoughed.

"Oh! It's a toy," she said excitedly. "A dinosaur toy, it seems. Is it soft or hard?"

What a stupid question. "Rosie is soft and green and he's my favorite."

He watched her grab her wand and grab the empty glass of water. He watched as she transfigured the glass of water into a toy dinosaur. It was green, and it was smaller than Rosie.

"That's not Rosie," he said.

Pansy looked stricken and glanced down at the toy in her hand. "This is… uh… this is Posey. She's Rosie's sister."

"Rosie doesn't have sisters," Zane said. "He's just like me."

"He does have a sister that nobody knew about," she insisted. "Her name is Posey and she's really nice."

Zane sniffed and looked at the dinosaur held in Pansy's hand. It looked a little bit like Rosie, and it was a toy, so that was good. He slowly approached the bed and held out his hand for the toy. Pansy smiled a triumphant smile and placed the toy in his open palm.

Zane hugged Posey to his chest and climbed into the bed. He missed his mummy and daddy. He hoped he could see them soon.

"I'm sleepy," he said through a wide yawn. The medication was kicking in again, and his tantrum had taken a lot of his energy. He turned to his side and hugged the toy dinosaur closer to him. He wished he could have a goodnight kiss from his mummy and daddy, but he would just make them kiss him two times when he saw them.

"Do you want a story and kiss?" Pansy asked hesitantly.

Zane's answer was a soft snore as he fell back into a deep sleep.

She looked at the huddled mass on the bed for a long second and then left the room, turning off the lamp before she went.

Everything was going wonderfully. Zane would grow accustomed to living at the chateau with her and Angelo. She would be getting Draco's child-support money every other week, enough to drape her in diamonds and emeralds for the rest of her life. Not that she would spend all the money on jewelry, heavens no. She would, of course, set aside an amount for Zane, but how much could a three-year-old spend? The rest would be hers for the taking.

Her life couldn't get any better.


	21. When You Thought that It Was Over

Disclaimer: All Harry Potter related characters, places and themes belong to J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury and Scholastic.

A/N: Thank you again for all the reviews! And a big, big thank you for everyone who voted at The New Library Awards! This story won Best D/Hr Romance and was runner-up for best D/Hr Work in Progress. :) Thank you so, so, so very much! The chapter title comes from the song, "Everything's Not Lost" by Coldplay.

* * *

**Chapter 21: When You Thought that It Was Over**

* * *

Hermione tapped her fingers against the armrest of the couch, trying not to let her tears start again. The last thing she needed was to wallow in a brutal depression again. She looked at the clock hanging over the mantle and noted the time. It was almost midnight, and she had no idea where Draco was. The crushing blow of losing Zane had started to wane and was now being replaced with worry for Draco's whereabouts.

Just as she was about to floo Narcissa to check if he had shown up at the manor, she heard the sound of the front door opening and closing. She stayed on the couch, a slight anger burning through her as the worry receded.

Draco came into view a few seconds later and took the empty seat next to her, dropping onto the seat with the finesse of a person who had given up.

They sat in silence for a few moments, neither one daring to break it. There really was nothing to say. Where would they start? A simple hello would gain a confused look from the other and a sigh would probably start an unnecessary conversation.

"Do you remember when we used to hate each other?" he suddenly asked.

Hermione slowly turned her head to look at him, hoping he hadn't gone crazy on her from the grief of losing his son that day. "Yes, I remember."

"Seems so trivial now, doesn't it?"

"A lot of things seem trivial now," she replied.

"I used to hate how you were so sure of yourself, as if you knew everything there was to know about everything. Drove me crazy," he said.

"I'm not like that anymore?"

"No, you're still like that. I've just learned to live with it."

"Well, I used to hate how you talked down to people. You never outgrew that tendency; you still do it. You tend to use a condescending tone with people you don't know and even sometimes with the people you do know. I hated nothing worse than when you would talk condescendingly to me."

"So you've learned to live with that?" he asked.

"Yes. I've learned to live with it."

"I hated how bossy you were."

"I hated how apathetic you were," she replied.

"I hated how you used to think you were better than me when you'd ignore my taunts," he told her.

"I hated how you used to think you were better than me period."

"I hated myself for wanting to be like you," he said.

She stopped for a moment, letting his words sink in. She didn't say anything, so he decided to keep going.

"I hated you for having real friends and for doing better than me in school," he said slowly.

"I hated you for being socially accepted and so self-confident," she said.

"I don't hate you anymore," he said on a whisper.

"I know," she said. Her eyes had filled with tears at some point for some reason that was beyond her. "I don't hate you either."

"I still don't like you," he assured her. "I love you, but I don't like you."

"I don't like you either," she said as a teardrop fell down her cheek.

"But do you love me?" he asked in a hoarse voice, his hand searching hers in the dark. "You don't have to like me, Hermione, but do you love me?"

"Yes," she said as another renegade teardrop caressed her opposite cheek.

She gasped when his hands found her face and dragged her to his lips, kissing her as if he needed to make sure she was there, to make sure she was real and tangible and all his. His tongue sought out her own, caressing it with the tenderness his words had failed to evoke.

She tasted him, tasted her tears, and brought him closer to her.

They weren't celebrating their confessions of love. They were filling the void that the grief had left behind.

Draco pulled back first, resting his forehead against hers, taking deep gulps of breath in tempo with her. "Don't ever leave me," he whispered against her mouth, their hot breaths mingling. "I can never lose you. Please, Hermione. Promise me you'll never leave."

"I won't," she told him. "I won't leave you. You have to promise, too."

"I will never," he kissed her, "ever," another kiss, "ever," and another, "leave you."

"I still don't like you," she said with a smile against his lips. They both knew what she meant.

"I know. I still don't like you either," he said with a small, husky laugh.

He kissed her again, leaving her breathless once more. He brought her into his lap, her thighs straddling his as he laved her mouth with his sweet kisses. Their actions turned frantic, their hands touching every possible place on their bodies.

Hermione pulled away for a moment to catch her breath and the stark emotion she saw in Draco's eyes made her stop completely.

"They took him away from me," he said tonelessly, out-of-the-blue, his chest moving quickly as he caught his own breath. "They took my boy away."

"Oh, Draco," she exhaled, cupping his face in her hands. She kissed him and pressed her cheek to his.

"Help me stop thinking about it," he begged her. "I don't want to think about it anymore."

"How can I?" she asked helplessly.

"Just… just…" he struggled for the words and then grabbed her face again to kiss her.

This time, their kiss didn't end. It progressed until their clothes were flung to the floor in haste, until Hermione felt herself lowered to the couch and Draco's hard, strong body cover hers. His lips blazed paths all over her torso, down her legs, between her legs…

She cried out his name, urging him to go harder, to go faster, to love her with his body. Her body trembled when he finally entered her, her skin slick with sweat to match his.

She raised her legs and wrapped them around him, needing to feel closer to him in any way she could. His lips never left her face and neck, whispering lascivious words to her as they met each other's thrusts.

In a shatter of stars, lights, and sounds, they reached a completion that put every other climax to shame.

Draco collapsed on her, unable to move away with her legs still wrapped around him. His upper body quavered with the intensity of his deep breaths, his face buried in her neck.

Hermione wasn't sure how she noticed it, but she somehow knew that the wetness she felt on her neck was not from the sweat on his face… her own tears fell then, as she hugged him closer, letting him cry for the loss of their son, his upper body not quavering with the intensity of his breaths, but with the desperation of his sobs.

* * *

The flames in the hearth glowed a bright green, something Zane had never seen occur in his new room. There was a screen in front of the flames, because Pansy didn't want him getting too close to the fire. 

He never paid the fireplace much attention, but now that the flames were green, he recognized the signs of the floo.

He sat at his place on the humongous bed in his room. Posey the dinosaur sat at his right, and an assortment of many toys lay around him as he sat having a very important meeting with them. He seemed to have a lot of meetings with his toys. There wasn't much to do in the big house he lived in now. He mostly stayed in his room talking to his toys and trying to get the house-elves to play with him. They never did. Lunch and breakfast were served in his room and he ate by himself, with only Posey the dinosaur and some other toy as company. He saw Pansy and that other man only at dinner.

Every dinnertime, Zane always asked when he would be able to go back home. He ignored them when they explained that he was currently in his new home. It was too ridiculous of a notion for him to entertain.

His eyes widening in curiosity, he dragged Posey closer to him as two heads popped up in the green fire. He knew those two heads! It was Unca Fred and Unca George! Right as he was about to scream their names, they put their fingers to their mouths to tell him to stay quiet. He nodded silently and watched their heads talking quietly to each other.

"Hey, Zane," Fred whispered. "Can you move this screen without getting hurt?"

Zane scrambled off the bed and walked to the fireplace. He pushed the screen to one side and moved so that the two men could climb out of the fireplace and into the room.

As they dusted themselves off, Zane threw his arms around their legs and hugged them tight. "You came to see me!"

George knelt down and hugged the kid, rubbing the dust out of his hair and off of Zane's shirt. "You missed us, then?"

Zane nodded with a wide smile. "Did you bring my mummy and daddy?"

George exchanged a sad smile with Fred and turned back to Zane. "Sorry, mate. They couldn't come."

"Why not?" Zane asked. "Don't they want to see me?"

"Of course they do," Fred assured him. "That cow downstairs won't let them come though."

"There's a cow in the house?" Zane asked with a giggle.

"He means Pansy," George explained. "Pansy won't let your mummy and daddy come visit."

"Why?"

"Because she's a bi--" Fred started to say before George interrupted.

"Because she doesn't want them to take you away from her. She's a very selfish and mean person," George said. "We've come to do our part in helping you drive her crazy."

"Are you going to stay with me? I'm very bored all the time and nobody talks to me," Zane said sadly. "I miss my mummy and my daddy and Gamma and Gampa and everybody."

"We won't be able to stay because Pansy would get very angry," George said quietly. "We're going to give you a few things, and you're going to help us pull a few jokes on her. Doesn't that sound like fun?"

Zane thought this over and then nodded his head. "Yes. I want to have fun."

"We'll come and check on you every night. When is your bedtime?" Fred asked.

"I don't have one," Zane said. "When dinner is done, I come to my room to play with my toys, and then I get sleepy and fall asleep. Pansy and that man tell me goodnight after dinner. I don't even get a bedtime story!"

"How about if we come by and read you a bedtime story before you go to sleep and bring you something to use on Pansy and that man."

"You're gonna come every day? Will you bring my mummy or daddy or Wolf? How about Gamma and Gampa?"

"Well, they're not allowed in this house, but we can bring anyone who isn't in your family."

"I just wanna go home," Zane said. "But Pansy won't let me."

"Your mum and dad are trying as hard as they can to get you back, mate. You just have to be good boy and torture Pansy just like we tell you to, and everything will turn out wonderfully."

"Okay. What do I have to do?"

Fred and George grinned at each other and then knelt down to eye-level with Zane, pulling the first of many things out of their duffel bag.

* * *

_Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy,_

_I am writing this in the hopes that you will keep everything I tell you in absolute secrecy. Once you read this letter, I would appreciate that it be completely destroyed and never mentioned again. I am not writing this as a Domestic Ministry Professional, but as a person who knows when an injustice has occurred. Meet me at the Blue Beau Pub tonight at eleven. No one must know of our meeting. I apologize for what has transpired, and I only hope I can help. _

_RW_



Hermione made her way down the hall to the master bedroom, clutching the note tightly in her hand. She called Draco's name, but heard his reply come from Zane's room instead.

Perched on the edge of his son's bed, Draco sat with Rosie the dinosaur held between his hands, his elbows resting on his knees and his head bowed. He looked utterly pathetic and she just wanted to hold him until they looked like two pathetic souls together. It had been two days since Zane had been taken away… two days since they had confessed their love.

"Yeah?" he asked, not bothering to look up.

"This was just delivered," she said, walking to him and handing him the note.

He unfurled the piece of parchment, and his eyes quickly swept across the words. He looked up at her when he was through, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "RW? Rhonda sent this?"

She shrugged. "It seems so. The only other RW I can think of is Ron and the last time I checked, he wasn't a DMP. Do you think this is a trick?"

He shook his head slowly. "I want to believe she's telling the truth, and I want to believe that she can help us. What do you think is the worst thing that could happen if this is some sort of ruse?"

"Well, see, I tried thinking about that possibility, but I don't see any way for us to get in trouble if we did go and meet her."

"I think we should go" he said. "If worse comes to worst, then we'll go back to waiting a year."

Hermione laid her head on his shoulder and wrapped her arm around his waist. "We'll get him back, Draco. Whether it be tomorrow, next week, next month or a year from now, we'll get him back."

"Have I told you lately how much I don't like you?"

She smiled and nudged him with her shoulder. "You might have mentioned it."

"Well, I _really_ don't like you," he said. She could hear the smile in his voice.

"I _really_ don't like you, too," she laughed back.

"If you ever stop not liking me, I think I'll go crazy," he warned her.

"Oh, I don't think you'll go crazy," she said, turning to look at him.

He gave her a confused look.

"I _know_ you'll go crazy."

With a quick grab, he had her beneath him, kissing her know-it-all mouth closed.

--

A few minutes before eleven, Draco and Hermione stood outside the Blue Beau Pub, which was located on the opposite side of London. They looked at each other hesitantly before walking into the dark establishment.

They scanned the nearly-empty pub and recognized Rhonda Westin sitting in a booth near the back of the room; her glasses were slightly askew, and she held her hands in front of her, clutching the tankard of drink hard enough to turn her knuckles white.

They approached her and she looked up with a tentative smile, gesturing for them to take a seat at the small, round table.

"I'm glad you decided to come," she said quietly. "We just have to wait for one more person to show up."

"Who?" Draco asked suspiciously.

"I invited your Judicial Advocate to join us. I… I know you don't trust me very much, so I thought if Mr. Zabini were here to help explain things, you would know I wasn't trying to trick you or anything."

"It's very honorable of you to help us, Miss Westin," Hermione said, smiling at the woman. "You're risking a lot to help."

Rhonda's cheeks brightened and she glanced down at the table with a small smile. "To tell you the truth, Mrs. Malfoy, your family was the first family I was ever assigned to. I became a DMP to help people, and I know you two are good parents to Zane. You have problems just like every other family, and I really didn't like taking Zane away from the two of you. My conscience has been a ticking time-bomb since that happened.

"Are we going to be doing anything illegal?" Draco asked.

Rhonda shook her head quickly. "Not illegal, but if the Ministry knew I was giving away bureaucratic secrets, they wouldn't be too happy. I was looking over Mrs. D'Aggostino's DMP reports and she really shouldn't be in charge of Zane. She's his biological mother, yes, but she also has issues with her attitude, financial spending, and lifestyle in general."

"We could have told you that," he replied under his breath.

"You knew Pansy was a bad mother and you gave Zane to her anyway?" Hermione asked.

Rhonda sighed. "I couldn't just go against the regulations put up by the Ministry. We all would have gotten in trouble for that, so instead, I followed the rules, and now I'm going to help you get him back before the separation causes him any extra unnecessary grief."

"Have you… do you know how he's doing?" Draco queried.

"Mrs. D'Aggostino sent the Ministry the required notice of arrival this morning and said that Zane is adjusting well to his new home. They went toy shopping for him yesterday, and she said he's very happy so far."

"Did her DMP reports mention that she's a compulsive liar?" Hermione mentioned with a roll of her eyes. "There is no way Zane is happy there. I would bet my school on that."

Rhonda pushed her glasses until they were straight and took a sip of her drink. She looked up when the door to the pub opened again. "Oh, Mr. Zabini is here." Her blush deepened and her attention immediately focused on the table.

"Sorry I'm late," Blaise said as he took the seat across from Draco and Hermione and next to Rhonda. He loosened the tie around his neck with his finger and gestured for the barkeep to bring him a lager. "I've been working my bum off this week with that stupid new law intern they assigned to me. Can you imagine getting off of work at nearly midnight?"

"Hello, Blaise. Good to see you, too," Draco told his friend.

Blaise gave them a bright grin and leaned back against the booth. "Hello there, Miss Westin. Destroyed any other families lately?"

Hermione caught the crushed look on Rhonda's face and quickly came to her defense. "Actually, Blaise, Rhonda is going to help us get Zane back. She just finished telling us how bad she feels for what has happened."

Blaise's eyebrows rose considerably as he turned to look at the DMP. "Well, well, I'm sorry for my comment, Miss Westin, please accept my apologies. I can be such a boor sometimes."

Rhonda smiled slightly and kept staring at the table, her cheeks turning up another hue of red. "It's quite alright, Mr. Zabini. I guess I deserved it in a way. My job isn't the most popular one out there, but I do try."

Hermione prodded Draco under the table when Blaise smiled at Rhonda. The DMP's eyes widened and then fell back down to the table, a small smile crawling onto her lips. Draco rolled his eyes at his wife and warned her wordlessly to not even think about playing matchmaker.

"I guess we can get started," Rhonda said. "Now, I've called you here today to explain the process of Appellate Analysis."

"Appellate Analysis?" Blaise interrupted. "Isn't that only for restraining orders?"

"What is it?" Hermione asked.

"Actually, Appellate Analysis can be used for any area of the law. That's something a lot of people don't understand," Rhonda explained. "If we use it for Mr. Malfoy's case, don't you think they'll be approved?"

Blaise thought about this for a moment, running his forefinger and thumb down his goatee. "I never even considered that option. I was certain it was only used for restraining orders. But, damn, that is a brilliant idea."

Draco rolled his eyes again when Rhonda beamed. "Could you two please explain to us normal humans what on earth you're talking about?"

"How would you like to have Zane back home by next month?" Blaise asked. "Maybe even sooner than that."

Draco and Hermione stayed silent, waiting for Blaise to continue.

Rhonda continued instead. "Appellate Analysis is a process of appealing to the Ministry to reverse a court-order. Now, we told you that according to the child-protection laws, you would have to wait a year to appeal for at least joint-custody of Zane. If you go through the Appellate Analysis, you'll only have to wait until the Wizengamot approves the appeal to get him back."

"How does it work?"

"Okay, well, first off, you'd have to fill out these two forms petitioning for full-custody of Zane. I know you don't want joint-custody with the D'Aggostinos, so you'll have to fill out the forms and then present five witnesses."

"Witnesses?"

"You'll need to present five witnesses to a full Wizengamot who will attest to Zane's well-being with the two of you as his parents. These witnesses have to be functional members of the magical community, cannot be related to either of you, and cannot be related to each other. They will be brought forth to a hearing by the Wizengamot and asked a series of questions pertaining to your parenting habits. They will be under oath and threatened with veritaserum if they appear to not be telling the truth."

"So, we just have to bring these five witnesses, they answer a few questions, and then we'll get custody of our son back?" Hermione asked slowly.

"Precisely. The Wizengamot must, of course, deem your witnesses' testimonies credible and will come to a decision the day of the hearing."

"That sounds simple enough," Draco said with a nod.

"You know five people who will testify?" Blaise asked, grabbing a notepad from the pocket of his blazer. "I'll have to submit their names for background checks, and we have to make sure they aren't related to the two of you or related to each other."

"I know Donny would help us," Hermione offered, "and of course, Harry and Ron. That's three people already."

"Isn't Weasley on that summer camp tour?" Draco asked.

"Oh, that's right. He leaves for New York tomorrow," Hermione sighed. "Well, any other Weasley could fill in for him. As much as you don't like them, they all adore Zane."

Draco scowled. "I never said I didn't like them…"

Hermione scowled back. "We'll talk about it later. Any one of them would gladly help us, but that still leaves us two people short. Almost everyone we know is related to us or them in some way."

They thought for a moment. "How about Lupin?" Draco asked. "He's not related to either of us."

"But he's married to your first cousin," Hermione said. She turned to Blaise and Rhonda. "Is there anything in the rules about people related to us by marriage?"

Blaise and Rhonda looked at each other for assurance, and then turned back to the Malfoys. "No, Mr. Lupin can act as a witness since he is not related to either of you."

"Well, good, that just leaves one person," Draco murmured. "Can you do it, Blaise?"

"I'm Zane's Godfather," Blaise replied. "Can't do it."

"Do you think Oliver would help us?" Hermione asked Draco.

"He barely knows us," Draco replied, "and I'm almost certain the bloke hates me, has always hated me and will continue to hate me until I'm old and gray."

Hermione frowned and tapped her finger against her lips. "There has to be someone who would help us. Can we give you the final name as soon as we think of it?" she asked Blaise.

He nodded and stuck the notepad with the four names back into his blazer. "Once I have the last person, I'll submit the list, and the Appellate Analysis can begin. I'm sure we can find someone."

"So, that's it? Once we find the final person, how long is the whole process?" Hermione asked.

"The background checks take a business day, and then the hearing by the Wizengamot is usually held on the Friday of the week you submit the names. The hearings usually take a few hours and the decision is given at the end, so if they rule in your favor, you could have Zane back in less than a week. It could be this week if you can get that final name to me by Wednesday."

"Tomorrow is Wednesday," Draco said.

"There's always next week and the week after and the week after that and so on if you can't find a final person by tomorrow," Rhonda offered. "The only problem being that the longer it takes to find your fifth witness, the longer Zane has to stay in France."

Hermione and Draco nodded their understanding. "We'll try and find someone as soon as possible."

Who would they ever find to help them?

* * *

By Wednesday night, they couldn't think of anyone who could help them. They had lost contact with a lot of people since Hogwarts and most of their friends and acquaintances fell into the category of people who were either related to them or related to the other witnesses. Draco's coworkers didn't really know Hermione or Zane, so they couldn't be of any help.

Their parents and friends tried to help them by thinking of people who could possibly fill the last witness position. Whoever would fill it would have to be close enough to the family to answer the questions well, or just be an extremely good liar. Hermione and Draco figured that their entire marriage was based on fooling the Ministry, why should they play by the rules now?

They were starting to lose hope after Thursday had passed. Their inability to think of someone meant that Zane would stay in France another week.

Friday night rolled around with Hermione and Draco sitting in the living room staring blankly at the television as an infomercial on knives aired. Hermione lay on her side, her head in Draco's lap as they watched the overexcited announcer exclaim how the knives could cut through a boulder. She had already warned Draco not to make comments of how close her head was to his groin. The last time he had muttered something about convenience and mouths and "while you're down there," she had promptly punched his arm and left.

"I asked Donny if Oliver would fill in as the fifth witness," she said tiredly. "She said he would have done it if he wasn't doing that stupid summer camp tour thing."

"Is it that same thing Weasley's at?" Draco asked.

"Yes. Their teams do this summer camp for disabled teenagers all over the world. They build special brooms and balls for them to play with and it's unequivocally the sweetest gesture out there." She sighed. "Can't say anything bad about it."

"How about that bloke who… no, he's related to the Weasleys. Damn, that family is huge," he muttered.

"We'll think of something, Draco. I'm a big believer in fate. If it's meant to happen, it'll happen."

"Your optimism doesn't help," he grumbled. "Can't we mope some more?"

She turned to her back and smiled up at him. "You've been doing enough for the both of us."

He stuck his tongue out at her, clearly regressing to the mental age of seven, and flicked her forehead for good measure. "We're never going to think of anyone."

"Give it time," she said, grabbing his hand and biting his finger playfully before he could flick her again.

He leaned his head back against the couch and shook his head. "I miss him."

"I know you do," she said softly. "I miss him, too."

"What do you think he's doing right about now?"

Hermione thought for a moment. "Well, if Pansy is doing a mediocre job, he should be getting ready for bed, possibly taking a bath."

"I hope he splashes her."

"Here's hoping she drowns in the process," Hermione said.

Draco smiled down at her. "He's a good kid. He's probably sitting in bed as we speak, getting her to read him a story."

"Poor Zane. He could probably read a book better than she can."

* * *

Several hundred miles away in a large chateau in France, Zane Malfoy picked up the small bottle that Fred and George had given him. They had told him to put the contents of the bottle in Pansy's shampoo because it would make her hair turn very pretty.

Too bad for Pansy that Fred and George thought bald was beautiful.

Zane checked the hallway to make sure the coast was clear. They had told him that it was a big, secret mission and no one was supposed to find out that Zane had done anything. He had sworn, crossed his heart, vowed to Posey and Rosie that no one would ever know it was him.

He walked to the big doors that led to Pansy and that man's bedroom. They were still downstairs, doing whatever they did after dinner, so the room was empty.

He quickly made it to the bathroom and found the large pink bottle resting in a basket near the bathtub. Fred and George had somehow known which was Pansy's shampoo (no doubt having snuck into the room through the floo) and had told Zane to dump all of the little bottle's liquid into the big bottle.

The little bottle contained a formula that would leave whoever used it completely bald. Only a special antidote manufactured by the Weasleys could reverse the effects. No spells, hexes or other potions could make the hair come back. At the special price of ninety galleons, Pansy could order the antidote, if she could ever figure out why she had suddenly lost her hair.

Once his task was finished, Zane pocketed the empty bottle and put the big bottle back in its place. He sprinted back to his room after checking the hallway again and jumped into his bed, out of breath and smiling like the devil himself.

Unca Fred and Unca George were going to be so proud!

As if his thoughts had conjured the troublesome duo, they appeared in the green flames and quickly climbed out of the hearth.

"Did you do it, mate?" Fred asked, walking to the bed and sitting on the edge.

Zane nodded. "I did it just like you told me to!"

"Where's the small bottle?" George asked from his other side.

Zane pulled it out from his pocket and handed it to the twin, who promptly made it disappear with his wand. No incriminating evidence for them, thank you very much.

"Did you bring a story to read to me?" Zane asked.

"Yep. It's about a dinosaur and robot," Fred said, pulling a book out from behind him.

"Oh, wow!" Zane replied with amazement.

"Alright, you ready, mate?" Fred asked.

Zane nodded excitedly and settled beneath the covers.

"Once upon a time…"

* * *

The sunrise was a pleasant occurrence in the rustic town of Zane's new home.

The sound of the birds chirping loudly outside his window had awoken him the past few mornings.

The strangled scream coming from the master bathroom that awoke him the next morning put a small smile on his face as he put a pillow over his head and fell back asleep. One trick down and many, many more to go.


	22. Never Know What the Future Brings

Disclaimer: All Harry Potter related characters, places and themes belong to J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury and Scholastic.

A/N: sorry, sorry, sorry for the long wait! Sad to say, but the story is very quickly coming to an end, and I believe there are two more chapters left before the epilogue. I do have a sequel already planned focusing on Zane's life after Hogwarts, so just to give you guys a heads up on that. Thank you for the continued reviews and the many kind words! Oh, and a happy belated birthday to chrisadda and Losername! The chapter title comes from the song, "If You're Not the One" by Daniel Bedingfield.

* * *

**Chapter 22: Never Know What the Future Brings**

* * *

Blaise looked up from his paperwork when Margie, his secretary, walked in and called for his attention. "You have a visitor, Mr. Zabini."

He looked down at his desk, to the agenda-sheet Margie wrote out for him every morning. "I'm not scheduled for an appointment."

"He says that it is urgent," Margie replied in a tight tone. "Should I send him away?"

Blaise shook his head wearily and gestured for her to let the visitor in.

She gave him a frown and proceeded to bring the visitor in to the grand office, closing the door behind her as she left.

The tall man, dressed in black robes, stepped forward and stuck his hand out to Blaise, introducing himself quickly. "Victor Reid, sir. I was told you could help me."

"Take a seat, Mr. Reid," Blaise said, pointing to a chair in front of his desk. "What exactly can I help you with?"

"Actually, it's more along the lines of _me_ helping _you_," Victor said.

"I don't have time or the patience for riddles, Mr. Reid," Blaise drawled. "Why are you here?"

"The Malfoys need a witness for their Appellate Analysis," he said plainly, receiving a surprised look from the handsome lawyer. "I can be that witness."

"And you are acquainted with the Malfoys? You have seen their parenting up close?"

"I am acquainted with them," Victor said. "I've known Draco for a long time and have had the recent pleasure of meeting his wife."

"The witnesses have to be close to the family, Mr. Reid. I am Zane's godfather and have been friends with Draco since we were boys. I have never even heard your name mentioned before."

"Ah, Mr. Zabini, but I have one thing that the other witnesses don't have," Victor said with a genuine smile. "Due to a slowly diminishing personality disorder, I have long ago developed an immunity to all truth-forcing potions, spells and magic."

"You can withstand the power of veritaserum?" Blaise asked skeptically.

"Indeed, I can," Victor replied. "I have lived most of my life lying through my teeth, so I can safely say that I'm very skilled at it."

"Why would you do this for the Malfoys? What's in it for you?" Blaise asked.

"I'd like to settle a few immoral affronts I've caused them," he answered.

"How did you hear about their need for a witness?" Blaise continued his line of questioning. He was always known for studying a subject to death, needing to know everything in order to go forward. It was one of the reasons why he had the second-highest position of judicial advocacy at the Ministry.

"My mother is a friend of Narcissa Malfoy; I overheard a conversation of theirs over tea. I asked Madame Malfoy who was representing their case and she directed me to you."

"All witnesses are subjected to a background check. Do you have anything on your record that I should know about, before I submit your name?"

"I've been jailed before for assault, but I was told that it would be removed from my record if I attended psychological rehabilitation sessions, which I have."

Before Blaise could ask another question, Margie knocked on the door and poked her head into the room. "A visitor for you, Mr. Zabini. She says she doesn't have an appointment but that it's urgent."

"Aren't they all?" Blaise murmured beneath his breath. "You can show her in once Mr. Reid has left."

Margie's lip curled. "She said it can't wait and that she's terribly sorry she's interrupting, but she really needs to see you."

Blaise ran a hand down his face and nodded. "I'm sorry for that, Mr. Reid. It's been a busy few days."

"I don't mind," Victor said with a nonchalant shrug. "Please, see to this person and I'll wait."

Blaise stood up from behind his desk to greet his visitor when he suddenly stopped and stared at the open door and the woman standing in the middle of the doorway.

"Miss Westin?" Blaise asked in a surprised voice. "What are you doing here?"

Rhonda bit her lip and pushed her glasses up her nose, making them even more crooked than they were before. "I'm so, so sorry, Mr. Zabini, for intruding, but I just came back from a departmental meeting and had to come talk to you."

"Well, please, come sit down. If Mr. Reid has no other questions, then my meeting with him is through."

Victor stood up and smiled at the two of them. "I'll see you at the hearing, then. Goodbye Mr. Zabini, thank you for your time."

Blaise nodded cordially at the man and then heaved a sigh of relief once he had left. "Sorry about that, Miss Westin. I've had a few unexpected visitors as of late. Now, what can I do for you?"

She pushed her glasses from the side, throwing them off-balance yet again. "I needed to go over the Malfoy case with you since I just finished speaking with the Wizengamot member watching their case. I told him we were filing for an Appellate Analysis, and he said that that is completely legal and as long as we can procure the five witnesses then we're doing okay." Rhonda smiled slightly and occupied her nervous fingers with an errant lock of hair. "I asked Mister Perez if I could possibly fill in for the fifth member, but he said I don't qualify since I would be on the panel that decides their fate."

"That's very kind of you," Blaise smiled. "But, thankfully, we've got all our witnesses; I'm going to submit their names for their background checks today."

"Then everything is working out smoothly," she said. "I can drop off the names at Mister Perez's office. I'm on my way back there to pick up my contracts and some extra forms."

Blaise shuffled through the papers on his desk and pulled out the scrap of parchment with the four names written on it. He quickly jotted down Victor Reid's name and handed it to Rhonda. He looked up at her and couldn't help but smile at her disheveled appearance. Many blonde strands of hair had escaped the tight chignon she had tried to make and her glasses were still crooked against her face, highlighting one eye more than the other.

He was used to glamorous women, supermodels, actresses, high society dames, the crème de la crème. He had never met anyone who worried less about their appearance. Rhonda seemed to be living in a world where she didn't really care what she wore or how tousled she seemed. He actually liked that about her. She just didn't care, and it gave her a sense of maturity he never seemed to find with those other women.

"Mr. Zabini?" she asked cautiously. "Did you hear me?"

He blinked twice and then smiled sheepishly. "Sorry… I was distracted."

"Oh," she said with a small smile.

_Damn it all, does she have a nice smile, or what? All straight teeth with those full lips…_

"Mr. Zabini, are you alright?" she asked, a worried look on her face.

"Perfectly fine," he said quickly, shaking his head of those ridiculous thoughts. "Been working a bit too hard, I'm guessing."

She nodded in understanding. "Yes, that is something that could very well rob you of normal functioning. I sometimes feel like maybe a stint in Azkaban would be better than coming to work every day."

He laughed at that and noticed her surprised look. She seemed surprised that she could make him laugh. He liked that about her. Her insecurity was endearing.

"Um, I should get going. I'll take those names and I'll be in contact with you for the Malfoy case anytime I hear something new or important," she said, standing up and knocking down the cup of coffee on his desk with her notebooks. "Oh! I'm so sorry!"

He waved away her busy hands as he pulled out his wand and cleaned everything up with a swish and point. "Don't worry, Miss Westin, everything is back to normal." He was hiding a smile at her frazzled energy, her lower lip tucked between her teeth and her shaky hands travelling to try and fix her crooked glasses.

"I'm such a bloody klutz," she sighed, knocking her glasses askew just once more. "I really am sorry, Mr. Zabini."

"Again, you have nothing to worry about," Blaise smiled. "I knock things down all the time."

"You're just saying that," she murmured.

"No, it's true. I'm always driving Margie crazy with how clumsy I can be. She's always picking up after me," he explained.

"Margie? Your receptionist?" Rhonda asked tentatively.

He nodded and noted the hint of relief on her face. For some reason his feet moved him closer to her, her eyes widening slightly as he approached her. They didn't say a word to each other as he stepped up and adjusted her glasses until they sat straight on her face. Her cheeks were bright pink and her eyes were wide, bright brown, staring up at him.

She gulped as his fingers slid down and caressed her cheeks. He smiled at her and then stepped back.

"I'll be on my way," she said with several cracks in her voice, "before I do something like burn your entire office down or something equally destructive."

"Goodbye Miss Westin," he called out cheerfully as he leaned against his desk.

She turned to look at him, her head tilted to the side. "Goodbye," she squeaked.

He smiled, watching her leave the room in a hurry, her knee-length business skirt molded to her derriere quite nicely and her long legs tripping slightly on the door ledge as she finally disappeared.

* * *

Pansy adjusted the hairpiece on her head, looking into the mirror with a grimace on her face. How could she have lost her hair? She had visited seventeen Healers and even a couple of muggle doctors, and none of them knew why she had suddenly gone bald.

"Pansy?" she heard the tiny voice of her son behind her.

"What?" she asked a little too harshly as she turned to find Zane standing in the doorway staring at her blonde hairpiece.

"I like that color on your hair," he said. "It's like Daddy's."

She stared at him and frowned. "Uh, thank you, Zane."

"Can you take me to the park?" he asked, walking into the room and passing by her open closet. He lingered there, looking at all the clothes and running his hands over the silky fabrics. "I want to play outside, please."

"Ask Angelo," she said distractedly. "I have to visit the damn wigmaker again."

"Uh-oh, Pansy, one bad word," he giggled. "You have to sit in time-out."

"Oh, I'll do that immediately," she said with a roll of her eyes. "Now, go away. Angelo will take you somewhere."

"I can't find Jello," Zane explained. He made sure she wasn't looking when he slipped the everlasting dungbomb into her closet.

"He should be in the study," she said, swiping away the fake bangs from her face.

Zane ran his hand over an extra soft dress and then left the room, his short legs accelerating once he neared his room. He walked over to the bed and looked under it, smiling when he found the identical faces peering back at him.

"Did you put the dungbomb in her closet?" Fred Weasley asked, crawling out from under the bed.

"Yes, I put it in there and right in the middle like you told me to," Zane said, jumping up onto the bed and bouncing a few times on it. "What is the dumbomb going to do, again?"

"It's going to make all of her clothes smell really nice," George explained, climbing onto the massive bed and bouncing next to Zane. "The smell will never come off unless she buys a special perfume from us for only three hundred galleons."

Zane's eyes widened considerably. "That's a lot of moneys! One time, Gampa and Gamma gave me ten gallons, and I got to buy anything in the whole store!"

"Galleons, mate, not gallons," Fred smiled. "Now, we'll be back tonight to check up on you and read you your bedtime story, okay?"

"Okay!" Zane said.

He watched them leave the room through the floo. He jumped off the bed and ran to find Jello to see if he would take him to the park. Jello wasn't a bad man, just very boring. He liked to talk about moneys and pretty ladies and a lot of boring stuff, but Zane usually just tuned him out.

* * *

Twirling the piece of graphite in his hand over and over, Draco watched the dark substance stain his fingers, leaving them a dark grey mess. His mind wasn't focusing on the graphite stains, or the blueprints sitting in front of him. He was supposed to finish the sketches for a project he had started weeks prior, but couldn't seem to focus on the task at hand.

His guilt was starting to eat at him. He had done something unforgivable. He had done something sneaky, underhanded, immature, and completely irrational. It had been two weeks since Zane had been taken to France and two weeks since Draco had done that one unforgivable thing.

He looked up at the clock near his desk and sighed with the realization that he couldn't keep his guilt at bay any longer. He had to tell Hermione the truth, had to confess his deplorable deed. She would probably hate him, would most likely hurt him, and would definitely want to smack him. He deserved it all.

Throwing down the piece of graphite, he rolled up the blueprints and handed them to Roger, his right-hand at the company, and left the office building in a hurry, his cloak clutched in his hand as he turned the corner and apparated straight home.

He arrived to an empty flat, a note from Hermione left on the coffee table telling him that she was out shopping with her mother. He changed out of his work clothes and slipped into a pair of basketball shorts and a white t-shirt, leaving the flat again to run. He had been slacking in his exercise habits, not doing his usual three-times-a-week run through their neighborhood.

Maybe running would empty his head of the guilt… of the pain… of the loss. True, he did have Hermione, who loved him, whom he loved back. But, he needed his son. He also had to tell Hermione what he had done. He wouldn't be able to look at her one more moment without her knowing.

He ran for two hours, never slowing his pace, never letting the burning in his chest and legs slow him down or tempt him to stop. Every time his foot hit the cement, he thought of his son, far away, living with a woman who probably could have brought down Voldemort with the power of her nagging alone.

By the time he reached the flat, he was beyond exhausted; his breath came in short bursts as he clutched his side and wiped the sweat away from his forehead with the back of his arm. He unlocked the door and walked into the foyer, wincing as he realized he had forgotten to stretch before running, his muscles now screaming at him to not walk so slowly.

"Draco?" Hermione's voice permeated through the walls from the bedroom. "Is that you?"

"Yeah," he called back, throwing his wand onto the coffee table and collapsing on the couch.

She appeared in the doorway, the light behind her, highlighting the frizz that never seemed to want to go away no matter how many times she used the conditioner Donny gave her. "Where have you been? I was a bit worried."

"Sorry; I went running, lost track of time" he sighed, stretching his legs out in front of him and taking a steadying breath.

"Did you have a good run?" she asked, coming to sit next to him on the couch and then leaning away from him. "Goodness, you smell like the outside."

"Yeah," he replied tonelessly.

"What's wrong?" she asked suddenly.

"I have to tell you something," he said, looking directly at the blank television.

"What is it?"

"I did something foolish," he said slowly. "I haven't been able to tell you, because well, for one, I didn't recall doing it until yesterday, and because I haven't had the courage to. That's something you remember about the teenage Draco, right? I was a coward?"

She tilted her head, her brows furrowed in confusion. "What on earth are you talking about?"

"I couldn't face the truth that my son was taken away from me," he continued. "I wasn't entirely in my right mind when I left that hospital room two weeks ago. I went and … and …"

"Draco, what did you do?"

"I went to a Healer," he said simply, never meeting her curious gaze. His eyes focused straight ahead, unblinking. "He took off the semi-permanent contraceptive charm I had."

She stayed silent for a moment, digesting his words.

"We've been having unprotected sex for two weeks now," he continued.

More silence.

"I think I may have lost a bit of my sanity when they said they were taking Zane away. I had felt like my mind was disconnected from the rest of my body, doing things its own way. Thinking about it now, I'm pretty sure my subconscious thought to replace Zane with another child. I barely remember doing it. I suddenly remembered last night before I fell asleep, that I had gone to the Healer and asked to have the contraceptive charm reversed. That's why I think I might have gone or am going crazy."

Even more silence.

"If I had remembered reversing the charm, I would have said something, Hermione," he said, his voice still without emotion. "But, now I'm not so sure I regret doing it. The thought of you having my child doesn't sound so repulsive."

He was starting to worry about her silence. Where were the nine million questions, the yelling, the screaming, the cursing?

He didn't dare look at her. He knew what he had done was wrong, beyond wrong, and he wasn't going to look her in the eye until he knew how she felt about it all.

"Aren't you going to say something?"

"What do you want me to say?" she asked.

"I don't know."

"I have to get out of here," she said quickly, moving to get off the couch.

Draco's warm hand caught her wrist, dragged her face to look at him. "You promised you wouldn't leave me. You promised."

"I don't know what you want me to do, what to say," she said in a controlled voice. "I have to get away from you."

His hand fell limply from her wrist, his eyes burning with a hatred she hadn't seen since they were children, since the time they had reunited when Zane was first enrolled in school. "Then, go."

"Draco…"

"Go!" he snarled, lifting himself off the couch and leaving the room.

"I just need time to think!" she yelled back at him. "You can't have expected me to take this all in stride!"

"Get the hell out!" he screamed through the closed door.

She rolled her eyes. _Yeah, like I'm going to leave now because you order me to. Think again, buddy._ She sank back against the couch, her heart starting to catch up with her mind, beating irregularly with the news that Draco had kept from her.

She hadn't had any symptoms of pregnancy; nothing had felt different for the past two weeks. She thought to herself, using a mental calendar: her last period had ended the day Zane had fallen off the balcony.

She pressed a hand to her flat belly, her fingers tracing the width of it. She could imagine a little boy, just like Zane… big, trusting eyes; a wide, innocent smile… She could imagine a little girl with guilty grey eyes, a smirk ready to erupt at a moment's notice, and out-of-control hair the color of an angel's halo.

She had always heard women saying that they had these "feelings" when they became pregnant, like they just knew that they were with child. She didn't feel anything like that. That was probably a good thing, she told herself. She wasn't ready to have kids… was she?

She was already a mother, already a wife… so her rationale didn't completely make sense. She was very prepared to have a child. She loved children, would love any child given to her. It had only taken days for her to fall completely in love with Zane, and he didn't even have her blood running through his veins.

She really didn't know what to do about Draco, sulking in his room. He probably thought she was angry with the news he gave her. To tell the complete truth, she was a bit angry, never liking to have no control over her life. She would have liked to have been aware ahead of time of the possibility of getting pregnant, but ever since marrying Draco, things tended to be taken out of her control, out of her hands.

"You're still here," she heard Draco's voice say from the entryway of the living room.

"Yes," she said in a hoarse voice.

"I'm not going to apologize," he said bluntly.

She looked up at him, he was freshly showered, his hair still wet and pushed off his face. He looked remarkably like he used to when they had first started at Hogwarts, his face in a scowl.

"I'm not asking you to," she replied.

"Why didn't you leave?" he asked.

"Because you did that job for me," she said.

"I don't like you," he said quietly.

"Yeah, I don't like you much either," she told him.

They stayed quiet, their breathing the only sound in the room.

He came to sit beside her on the couch, not touching her, not saying a word. They sat side-by-side, their thoughts going in every possible direction.

"Do you know if you're…"

"No," she said quickly. "I don't know."

"I want to say I'm sorry for not knowing about this sooner, but I can't. I want it too much. I _want_ you to have my child. You know my selfishness knows no bounds."

"I'm not angry, Draco," she said.

"I know. You stayed."

"You forgot to add arrogance along with selfishness."

He gave a short laugh at that.

"I need to talk to someone," she said, "most preferably another woman."

"Whatever you need," he shrugged.

She stood up and toppled back down when Draco caught her around the waist and smashed his lips to hers, as always, showing her what he had a hard time saying in words. He pulled away slowly, dragging his hands off of her waist, slowly lingering against her stomach.

They exchanged a subtle look and she left him on the couch, walking to the door with haste lest she turn around and shag her husband despite his mental lapses.

* * *

"I miss you oodles and oodles," Donny said to the green flames, smiling at Oliver's head. "The shirt I stole from you has lost its smell."

"Ye stole my shirt? Is it the one I use fer trainin'?" he asked.

She smiled widely. "Yes."

"Ach, I've been lookin' fer that shirt, Donatella," he said with a betraying smile. "Tell me it was washed before ye filched it."

"Nope. It smells like you after a nice, rough, training session. I fall asleep with it," she explained. "It smells so manly."

"Ye'll be the absolute death of me, lass," he laughed. He stopped when he heard the knock at Donny's door. "Expectin' someone?"

"No," she said. "Maybe it's my boyfriend rental delivery."

"Ha-ha," he said dryly, watching her walk to the door.

Donny opened the door to find Hermione, who smiled wanly at her. Oliver watched the two of them talk and then watched as Donny walked over to the floo and blew him a kiss. "It's girl-talk time! Bye, Woodie! Have fun in Lafayette!"

He waved and his head disappeared from the hearth, the flames turning back to a brilliant, deep orange.

Donny turned back to Hermione and pointed to the couch for them to sit. "What's on your mind, love?" she asked as she grabbed her wand and conjured up two glasses of juice.

Hermione shrugged and accepted the juice with a polite nod. "I came to ask you a few questions."

"Yeah, sure--" Donny stopped when she heard another knock on the door. "Oh, that must be Narcissa."

"Narcissa?" Hermione choked. "Here?"

"Yeah, I invited her over for tea. It's like a gossip explosion whenever she comes around. I love it," Donny smiled as she walked to the door.

Hermione put the glass of juice down on the coffee table, her hand shaking too much to keep it steady. She heard the two women at the door greeting each other warmly. She had become used to Narcissa's loving nature, something that still somewhat surprised her to this day.

"Hermione, my darling!" Narcissa's sing-song voice said as she walked into the living room. Floated into the living room would be more appropriate, her robes swaying behind her gracefully. "How are you?"

"I'm… fine, Narcissa," Hermione said, standing up to hug the older woman.

"How is Draco?" Narcissa asked, taking the seat next to her daughter-in-law. "Are the two of you doing well?"

"We're… fine," Hermione said, feeling repetitive. "Draco still has his bouts of gloom and I sometimes find him sleeping in Zane's room, but I think he's trying to adjust."

"Oh, my poor child," Narcissa sighed. "Donny, sweetheart, come sit down. We can drink tea later."

Donny obeyed, leaving the small kitchen to take the seat across from the two Malfoy women. "Have you two found your fifth witness."

Hermione shook her head sadly. "Blaise said he had to speak with us later tonight… I think he needs a fifth name soon, but we really can't think of anyone."

"Everything will turn out for the best," Donny assured her. "Zane is _meant_ to be with you and Draco; fate is just taking a little while longer to get everything sorted out."

"Our little, spiritual optimist," Narcissa chuckled.

Donny smiled and lifted her arms in a careless gesture. "I just think that good things happen to good people if they are patient enough."

"You're starting to sound like a fortune cookie," Narcissa said with a roll of her eyes.

Hermione watched them chat and laugh, her nerves building to mention her problem. She wanted to tell someone, find out if she was worrying for nothing. She blew a frustrated breath out. She should have just read a book on pregnancy to find a pregnancy check spell or potion… or screw that, she should have just walked to the closest chemist and picked up a pregnancy test to take a piss on and find out the old-fashioned way.

"Hermione!" Donny finally yelled. "Come back to us, doll-face!"

"Sorry," Hermione said.

"I was just telling Narcissa that I don't know why you're here, not that you're not welcome," Donny said. "Before I answered the door, you said you had to ask me something?"

"Oh, uh, yeah, I just wanted to know how you were doing," Hermione said lamely. "I feel like the only time I see you these days is at work."

"I'm as fine as I was yesterday when we talked," Donny laughed. "You sure you're okay, Hermione? You don't seem yourself."

"Actually, I think it's just this headache," she said. "I think I'll stop by the chemist and pick up some pain reliever."

"I think I may have some…" Donny said.

"No, it's alright, I have to pick up a few things anyway," Hermione said. "I'll see you two soon."

Narcissa and Donny watched Hermione leave the room at an unnatural pace. They turned to look at each other with curious looks. "You think she's lying?"

"Oh, there is most definitely something going on with her," Narcissa said. "Maybe she got into a fight with Draco? I know when Lucius works my last nerve, I tend to flee the manor and use his galleons on a nice spending spree… but then I end up buying lingerie and Lucius is the one who benefits from that!"

"That somehow doesn't disgust me," Donny said seriously. "You married one fine specimen of man there, Narcissa. If I didn't love Woodie, I would definitely ask you to hand over Lucy-pie when you tire of him."

"What's this? You love young Oliver?" Narcissa asked excitedly. "When did this happen?"

Donny actually blushed. The first time Narcissa, or anybody for that matter, had seen her do it. "Um, yeah. I really do. He actually said it first."

"Tell me everything," Narcissa gushed. "I thought he was in the States for that camp."

"Well, it was our one month anniversary a few weeks ago and he was in Des Moines, so I knew we wouldn't be together for that, but I was never really into the whole anniversary thing. I mean, it had only been a month, and I don't really care about celebrating or anything, but Woodie internationally apparated just for our anniversary! You know how difficult it is to get a license and approval to internationally apparate, but he did it, and he took me out to dinner, gave me a silver necklace that I have yet to take off and told me how he felt about me. He was all shy and stumbling over his words, Narcissa… I swear, I never cry, but the minute he finally got the words out, I burst into tears like some drama queen."

"That's fantastic, darling!" Narcissa said with a smile. "I knew you two would hit it off from the beginning."

"I am beyond ecstatic. At first, I was worried that it was too soon for us to be saying we love each other after only a month, but Woodie just rolled his eyes at me, 'Ach, lass, yer worried aboot nothin'!'" she said in a great imitation of her boyfriend.

"He's absolutely right. I am so sick of society putting rules on how long it should take to fall in love. Goodness, just fall in love and don't care what anyone thinks. It's that simple."

Donny nodded in agreement. "Now, if only Hermione had been here, she would have agreed. You know Draco was barely in the country a few weeks before those two got married. Simply amazing."

Narcissa coughed lightly into her hand. "Yes, amazing."

No need to tell Donny that it didn't even happen until after the wedding…

* * *

Zane scrunched up his nose when he ran down to dinner that same evening. The smell in the dining room was disgusting. "Yuck!" he shouted, his fingers clamping his nose shut.

"Don't run, Zane," Pansy snapped, her face contorted in the most evil scowl he had ever seen.

"It's stinky in here," he said.

The man named Jello held his napkin over his face as he looked over at his wife. "Yes, I believe something has happened to your mother's clothes."

"Did you poop in your clothes, Pansy?" Zane asked, climbing up onto his chair, trying hard not to let go of his nose.

"Don't use that type of language!" she shrieked, "and no, I didn't poop in my clothes!"

"Pansy said poop," Zane told Jello.

Jello said nothing, the look he got from his wife clearly predicted death if he said a word.

"Angelo, could you pour me some wine?" Pansy asked through her teeth.

He did as asked, dropping the napkin to do as she bid. He started coughing without the cloth barrier to protect his senses from the rank odor of the everlasting dungbomb. "Excuse me," he coughed, quickly leaving the room.

"Where is Jello going?" Zane asked, still holding his nose and taking a bite of his food.

Pansy clenched her jaw and uncorked the wine bottle, drinking directly from it, tilting her head far back enough to lean the wig on her head a few inches.

"I can't taste my food," Zane complained.

"I don't care," Pansy said. "Go eat somewhere else."

"Can I eat on my bed?" Zane tried.

"Fine," she shrugged, knocking back another gulp of wine.

"Can I eat in _your_ bed?" he asked.

He expected her to yell, to immediately say no, or to just glare at him. He didn't really expect her to burst into tears.

"Uh-oh," he said quietly to himself, watching her hands cover her face as her shoulders quivered in shaken sobs. "Don't cry, Pansy."

She ignored him, kept on crying.

He pinched his nose harder as he got down from his seat and walked over to his birthmother. He walked right up to her chair and put his small hand on her knee. "Don't be sad," he said in a nasally voice, his nose as closed as it could get. "It's okay that you're stinky and that you have no more hairs."

She sobbed harder, her hands falling down to look at his hand on her knee. She looked at him, the boy who was her son, the boy who didn't really belong with her. "I'm ugly, hideous… Angelo won't even sleep in our bed!"

"You're not ugly!" Zane said quickly, his innocent honesty taking precedence over every other instinct he had. "You have pretty eyes and they're blue! Blue is my favoritest color second and then green is my favoritest first!"

She blinked at him, her tears staining her cheeks. "Thank you," she said slowly, looking him in his own grey eyes, so very much like his father's. "Go… uh, go eat your dinner, Zane. Then go to bed."

He nodded and then ran to grab his plate. He walked out of the room, carefully holding the plate in one hand and closing his nose with the other.

She watched him leave, his short legs very skinny in the shorts he had dressed himself in that morning. She hiccoughed and dabbed at her face with her dinner napkin. That little boy had done something to her in that moment. She didn't like what she was feeling. She didn't like that unknown emotion… was it guilt? Was it a maternal emotion? Was it indigestion?

She had no idea her son was currently in his room, eating his dinner and talking to Fred and George Weasley, telling them that she had smelled very, very stinky at dinner and that she had started crying. She also didn't know that Fred and George were currently telling Zane that his next mission was to play mirror until Pansy went slightly crazy. She didn't know about the explanation they gave Zane of the game, that the sole rule was to repeat everything a person said back to them. A lovely game indeed.

* * *

Hermione closed the front door to the flat and clutched the paper bag in her hand tighter as she locked the door and listened for any sound. She heard Draco in the kitchen, the sound of silverware clanging against a plate. She walked in and found him sitting at the small breakfast table eating a quick dinner and reading a Quidditch magazine.

He looked up when she walked in, his eyes fixed firmly on her face as she gave him a tired smile. The paper bag in her hand caught his attention as he looked at it and then back at her face.

"Did you have a good talk?" he asked.

"Not really," she replied.

"Are you angry with me?"

"I don't think I am," she said. "Maybe, but I don't think so. I don't know how I really feel. Isn't that stupid? I don't know if I'm upset or annoyed or happy or excited…"

"What's in the bag?" he suddenly asked.

She looked down at the bag and then at him. "A pregnancy test."

He said nothing.

"I want to make sure," she told him.

"Would you be upset if the test was positive?" he said.

She thought about that for a moment and then shook her head.

"Would you be upset if the test was negative?"

"I don't know," she answered honestly. "Would you?"

"If it made you upset, it would make me upset," he told her, looking at the Quidditch magazine on the table. He didn't explain or go on.

She took a breath and then left the kitchen, walking straight for the bathroom. She needed her wits about her to effectively pee on the little white stick without making a complete mess.

She wished she could hear Draco's footsteps behind her, but they never came. Not that she wanted him to watch her pee on the stick… good God, no… but it would have been nice of him to wait outside the bathroom door like a good husband and tell her encouraging things.

Wait, for a second there, she forgot who she was married to. Draco sitting outside the bathroom door telling her nice, comforting things? Ha! He loved her and all, but he was still Draco.

She took the paper bag, opened it, took the bright blue box out of it, opened the box and pulled out the instructions. She read the instructions seven times, making sure she knew exactly what to do. Okay, she actually read it nine times, but who's counting?

The little, white stick in her hand taunted her, carrying her future in its existence. She took a deep breath and glanced at the instructions one last time. They told her that she had a choice of peeing into a cup and dipping the stick into her urine, or she could just pee directly on the stick. She decided to just go for it, not wanting to have to clean up any more than she already would have to.

She willed her hand to stop shaking as she wiggled out of her pants and underwear. Sitting gingerly on the toilet seat, she nearly dropped the damn stick into the toilet bowl when she heard the knock at the bathroom door.

"What is it?" she asked shakily.

"You okay in there?" Draco's voice asked through the door.

"Just peachy," she called back.

"Sarcasm not needed," he replied.

She rolled her eyes and then realized that she couldn't go if he was standing there listening to her take a leak. "Could you go away for a second?"

"Why?"

"Because I don't you to hear me peeing!" she said loudly.

"I've heard you pee before," he said.

"What?!"

"In the mornings, before we go to bed, a lot of times," he said seriously. "Why? Are you embarrassed? Peeing sounds the same coming from everyone."

She bit back a whimper of frustration. "Never mind, just forget it. Listen to me pee, for all I care!"

"Okay."

She cursed under her breath and then pretended he wasn't standing outside. She thought of waterfalls, faucets, rushing rivers, running water…

She closed her eyes and when she finished, she flushed the toilet and did all that neat stuff like wiping and pulling her pants back up.

"So?" Draco's muffled voice said.

"We have to wait two minutes," she said, placing the stick face-up on a piece of toilet paper on the counter. She washed her hands, three times, and then turned away from the evil, little stick, not wanting to actually watch the little window on the stick change colors.

She picked up the empty box and looked at the back. Blue meant no baby. Pink meant baby. Blue… no baby. Pink… baby.

"Are you going to open the door?" Draco asked.

"No," she said. "I can't… just, not now. When… I… later, just… later."

He took that as a sign of her nervousness. "I still don't like you," he said softly.

She turned to the door and took two steps until she could touch it. She pressed her fingers against the wood. "I know, Draco," she said with a gentle smile. "I still don't like you, either."

She heard his small laugh and then a silence. "It's been two minutes."

She looked down at her watch and gulped. "Yeah."

"Well?"

She walked to the counter and picked up the little stick.

The new color was very clear-cut. It wasn't a shade in between the two colors, but the exact shade that the box had shown.

She stared at the new color for a long moment and then slowly turned to the door. Draco was leaning against the doorframe when she opened the door. He looked at her and then at the white stick she held in her hand.

"So, what's the answer?"


	23. It's like the Darkness is the Light

Disclaimer: Disclaimer: All Harry Potter related characters, places and themes belong to J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury and Scholastic.

A/N: this chapter is super long, so the last chapter of the story will be short! It's just the way that worked out. The epilogue will start off the sequel. Thanks for the loving reviews! Sorry for the cliffies. ) The girl whom I based Donny off of (my real life best friend since elementary school) has a blog now! So, go check that out. On LiveJournal, her name is scarletidiocy, so go friend her! She's read the story and loves that I wrote a character exactly like her. She wants to meet the readers now, so yeah. The chapter title comes from the song, "Disturbia" by Rihanna.

* * *

**Chapter 23: It's like the Darkness is the Light**

* * *

Blaise knocked on the front door to Draco's flat. He held the final form in his hand, the form that would set everything in motion and start the process for the Malfoy Appellate Analysis. Rhonda had sent the five witnesses for their background checks, and they had all come back cleared and approved for their participation that very same day.

Before Blaise could let his thoughts stray to the DMP, Draco opened the door.

"How important is this, Zabini?" Draco asked instead of saying the friendly hello.

"Nice to see when I'm wanted," Blaise said with a charming smile. "And if you're busy, I can just give you the information and go."

"Yes, fine," Draco said tiredly.

"You seem a bit distracted, mate. Anything I can help with?"

"No, it's been a long day is all," Draco said.

"Ah, yes, it has," Blaise smiled. "Well, I just want to give you this form to sign so that I can give it to Miss Westin. We have your five witnesses and everything is ready for the Analysis."

"Wait, we never gave you a name for our fifth witness."

Blaise scratched at his goatee. "You didn't know Victor Reid was volunteering for the position?"

"Reid?" Draco asked with his mouth half-open. "What the hell is he doing as our fifth witness? There must be a mistake."

"God, you couldn't make this case easier on me, Draco? Now, I have to go find your Wizengamot member, see if I can subtract a witness from your list, then wait until we find a replacement and start the whole bloody process over again," Blaise ranted.

"I don't need this now," Draco replied. "Just do whatever, I don't care, let Reid be the witness."

"He said truth serums and spells don't work on him. If they choose to apply veritaserum on him, he could still say what great parents you and Hermione are."

"We _are_ great parents, damn it!" Draco said heatedly. "We don't need anyone lying for us."

"Miss Westin sent me a notice that they might not even use all five witnesses. If four witnesses unanimously agree on your parenting, they might stop the analysis there."

"Yes, okay, that's fine," Draco said. "Thank you, Blaise. I mean it."

"Yeah, I know you do. Now, go take a nap or something. Your crankiness might be contagious," Blaise said with a laugh. "Say hi to the wife."

Draco watched Blaise walk down the hall to the stairwell. He closed the door with a slight sigh and walked back slowly to the master bedroom. He found Hermione where he had left her when he had gone to answer the door. She was sitting on the edge of the bed, holding the pregnancy test in her hand, her face set in a serious pretense.

"It was Blaise," he said quietly as he took a seat next to her on the bed.

She nodded and looked at the pregnancy test for what must have been the tenth time.

"Are you going to throw that away? You basically peed on it," Draco said.

She laughed at that, a sound he was glad to hear. "Yes, that would be the smart thing to do."

He opened his hand and gestured for her to give it to him to throw away. She shook her head stonily. "I've peed on it, and you want to touch it?" she asked with a look in her eyes that said he might be huffing the strong stuff. She stood up to throw it away in the rubbish bin in the restroom.

"What's the big deal? I've licked and kissed you down there…"

"Draco!" she yelled loudly.

He gave her an innocent smile.

"You should be taking this more seriously," she said with a sigh, walking back to the bed and getting dragged into his lap. "I thought you would be upset."

"I told you I would be upset if you were upset. Are you upset?" he asked, lying back on the bed and bringing her to lie across his body.

"A little bit," she murmured into his chest. "There's a part of me that really wanted that stick to turn pink. But then there's the other part that would have been terrified and a bit upset at you for what you would have put me through."

"I know," he said softly. "Maybe it just wasn't meant to happen at this moment."

"You're starting to sound like Donny," she said. "You're right, though."

"I know I'm right," he told her.

She rolled her eyes. "This could give us a chance to work on our relationship."

"Lord knows _that_ needs major help."

She laughed at that and pressed her face to his cheek.

"I love you, Hermione," he said.

She lifted her head up and stared down at him, his bright, grey eyes staring back at her in an unwavering look. She couldn't understand why she never thought he was handsome until they were married. Love most definitely changed things.

"Yeah, I know you do," she said with a straight face.

"Now who's being arrogant?" he said, his smile wide, grabbing her face and kissing her hard. "My arrogant, little wife."

"I learn from the best," she teased.

"Say it back to me," he said.

"Say what?"

"You know what."

"I love you, Draco."

He kissed her again and rolled her beneath him, inching her shirt up over her head. "How about we get some practice in. We're obviously doing something wrong if I can't knock you up properly."

She smiled and arched her back when he kissed a particularly sensitive spot on her chest. "Practice sounds good."

Practice, after all, makes perfect.

* * *

"Where is Pansy, Jello?" Zane asked his step-father. "I can't find her anywheres!"

Angelo looked up from the paper he was reading. "Did you try the sitting room? I believe she has her friends over for tea."

"Thank you, Jello," Zane said quickly, leaving the room before the older man had a chance to correct him.

He hurried back to his bedroom and found Fred and George under the bed, their preferred hiding spot when they visited Zane during the day.

"Jello said Pansy is in the sitting room with her friends," Zane said in one breath as he ran around the room, expelling his pent-up energy. At four years old, and not a lot of chances to play outside, he had to deal with his circumstances as best as he could.

"Brilliant," George said.

"When me and my daddy lived with Pansy a long, long time ago, Daddy used to play games with me when Pansy had her friends here. Pansy didn't like these games."

"Go on," Fred said. "What kinds of games?"

"Daddy called our game 'Savages'!" Zane giggled. "I don't know what that means, but it was a fun game!"

"How did you play?"

"I would take off ALL of my clothes off and run into the room when Pansy was having tea. She always got very mad at me and Daddy." He giggled at that thought and shook his head. "I miss my daddy a lot."

"We know, mate," George said with a sad smile. "You're being such a good boy about all this, though. Your mum and dad would be very proud."

"What are Mummy and Daddy doing all by themselves at home? They must be very, very bored because I'm not playing any games with them! Are they getting ice cream without me?"

"No, not at all. They won't get any ice cream until you're back with them. They miss you tons and tons. We promise."

"Now, would you like to play a game, Zane?" Fred asked.

"Yes! I wanna play!"

"Would you like to play 'Savages'?"

"Pansy will get very mad again," Zane explained.

"When _isn't_ she mad?" George mumbled.

"But I can play," Zane said. "I'm so bored all the time. Will I get a prize like Daddy used to give me?"

"What did he used to give you?"

"Sweets and sometimes toys and sometimes read me three stories before bedtime instead of just one," Zane said.

"Alright, we'll give you a great prize, mate," Fred decided. "Just hurry now before her friends leave."

Zane moved to take off his shirt, and the twins promptly turned their backs, giving the child his privacy. Zane giggled as he removed his clothes. Fred and George heard his giggles follow him out of the room as they turned back around once the door was shut. They turned to each other and smiled at the small pile of clothes on the bed.

That kid was a born prankster.

They waited a few moments, waiting to see what went down. After a few minutes, they heard several loud screams and Zane's approaching giggles as he ran back to the room. They also heard Pansy's high-pitched voice coming as well. They turned to each other with nervous looks and dove under the bed just in time as the door slammed open.

"Zane Malfoy, you put your clothes on right this second," Pansy spat out.

"Zane Malfoy, you put your clothes on right this second," Zane repeated.

The twins could feel Zane jump onto the bed and start to bounce. They held their hands over their mouths to keep from laughing out loud.

"Put your clothes on and stop jumping!" Pansy shrieked.

"Put your clothes on and stop jumping!"

"Stop it!"

"Stop it!"

"Put your clothes on!"

"Put your clothes on!"

They heard a silence and for a worried second, thought Pansy was approaching the bed.

"At least put your underwear on, Zane."

"At least put your underwear on, Zane."

"Your willy is bouncing everywhere and it is indecent!"

Zane laughed at that, falling onto the bed with the intensity of his giggles.

"This isn't funny!"

"This … isn't … funny!" he repeated between laughs.

"I'm going to tell your father!" she threatened.

Zane stopped laughing at that and quickly put on his underwear. "Can I talk to Daddy, too?"

"What?"

"You said you were going to tell Daddy," he said, putting his shirt on, too. "Can I talk to him?"

"I was talking about Angelo!" Pansy said with an annoyed sigh.

"Jello isn't my daddy," Zane said.

"You are such a difficult child," she said. "You are to stay in your room until I tell you it's alright to leave."

"Okay," Zane said sadly, his hopes crushed as he realized he might never get to see his daddy. He laid his head on his pillow and turned to the windows, away from his mother. His good mood was officially gone. He just wanted to see his daddy and his mummy. Nobody seemed to understand that he missed them so much! He really wanted a hug and kiss from them. Only they did it the right way.

He heard the door close behind him and then saw Fred and George in front of him.

"You did a great job, Zane," George said as he sat down on the bed.

"I wanna see my daddy, please," Zane said in response.

"Mate, we can't…"

"I said 'please'!" Zane said loudly, his temper slowly rising. "Mummy and Daddy say that if I say 'please' then I can get what I want!"

"You're not allowed to see them," Fred tried.

"But I wanna!" Zane cried, his eyes filling up with tears, much to Fred and George's dismay. "I miss them! Daddy is gonna miss me!"

"Aw, Zane, don't cry, please," George pleaded.

Zane ignored the request and promptly started to cry into his pillow. "I want my daddy! I want my mummy! I want Gamma and Gampa and Wolf and Miss Donny and Unca Harry and Unca Ron and Unca Blaise!"

George put a hand on the little boy's back and tried to comfort him. "Your parents are trying very hard to get you back. Fred over here is even going to go talk to the Wizengamot to tell them how much of a good boy you are."

"Will I get to see my daddy?" Zane said with a sniffle, lifting his head off of his pillow.

"Hopefully, very soon," Fred said. "Now, cheer up, Zane and we'll give you some extra special sweets the next time we come around."

"Bertie Bott's?" Zane asked, wiping his face with the back of hand.

"Of course," George smiled.

Zane smiled shakily and sniffled. "I love you, Unca Fred and Unca George."

"Aw, mate, don't do that to us," Fred said.

"There's a lot of dust in this room," George sniffed, rubbing Zane's hair.

"Very dusty," Fred said, touching the corner of his eye.

* * *

Hermione pushed her hair away from her face as Draco wrapped an arm around her. "What did Blaise want?" she asked.

Draco ran a hand through his hair as he lay back on his pillow, yawning after the exhausting day… and the exhausting romp he had just had with his wife. "Did I not tell you?"

"What?"

"Victor Reid is our fifth witness," he said.

"Victor Reid?" she asked, shocked into near silence. "How on earth did this come about?"

"Apparently, he volunteered," Draco said with a curl of his lip.

"What if he ruins this for us?" Hermione asked slowly. "What if he's still holding a grudge against you for beating him to a pulp?"

"Do you think he seemed sincere when he came and apologized to you?" he asked.

Hermione thought about that for a moment. "I thought he seemed sincere, yes, but that doesn't mean I have to completely forgive him."

"Blaise told me that Victor is practically invincible against all truth potions and spells."

"We don't need anyone to lie for us," Hermione grumbled. "Zane belongs here."

"Yes, he does, but do you realize, if we just let Reid as as the fifth witness, the Analysis can start in two days and we can have Zane by Friday?"

Hermione's grip tightened around Draco's waist. "By Friday? That's in four days."

"Yeah."

"What should we do?"

"I was just about to ask _you_," he said with a small laugh.

"We should let Reid act as our fifth witness," she said quietly. "I want our son back."

Draco kissed the top of her head. "I guess we'll be hearing from Blaise or Rhonda tomorrow, then."

* * *

Just like Draco had said, while he and Hermione were eating breakfast before work, Blaise appeared at their door, a smile on his face and an official statement from the Wizengamot stating that the Appellate Analysis for the Malfoy family would be held the next day at noon. All witnesses and the participants fighting for custody would need to be on time and ready for an extended day.

Blaise had taken care of getting all the information out to the witnesses and preparing the case to perfection.

Before they knew it, it was the day of the Appellate Analysis. No one but the persons filing for the Analysis, the five witnesses, their Judicial Advocate, and an advocate representing the Ministry was allowed in to the courtroom. Narcissa had been very upset to learn this and had sent a very angry letter to the Minister. Until then, she was pacing at the manor while Lucius watched her and read a book.

Hermione's parents were also upset at the fact that they couldn't support their daughter, her husband and their favorite grandchild in a clearly momentous part of their lives. They made Hermione promise to tell them the minute anything happened.

That morning, Hermione and Draco couldn't stomach any food. They opted for a strong cup of tea instead of breakfast. The minutes ticked by slowly as they watched the hands of the clock. Their Analysis was scheduled for eight, and they would apparate to the Ministry, praying that they wouldn't be splinched in their nervousness.

"We have nothing to be nervous about," Hermione said quietly as they rode the lift to the courtroom where their case would be heard.

Draco nodded distractedly and clutched her hand tighter in his when the lift stopped at the appropriate floor.

The courtroom was small, two tables in front of a long dais where the Wizengamot would file in and sit at. Blaise sat at one the tables, his eyes darting back and forth across a few documents and his fingers rubbing at his chin as he read. He looked up when Hermione and Draco walked into the room and gestured for them to join him at the table in the unoccupied chairs.

"How are you two?" he asked as they sat down.

"We'll be better once this is all over," Draco said.

"You really have nothing…" Blaise was saying until he trailed off and stared at one of the doors in the back of the courtroom. His eyes were widened slightly and his mouth was open midsentence. Draco and Hermione looked to where Blaise was staring and they found the Wizengamot filing into the room, but standing in front was a woman who looked remarkably like Rhonda.

"Is that our DMP?" Draco asked.

"She cleans up quite nicely," Hermione said with a smothered laugh.

"That's not her," Draco said simply.

"It is," Hermione replied. "The glasses are the same; they're just not crooked today."

Rhonda looked over at them and smiled slightly, reaching her hand to push up her glasses, but at the last second moved her hand away from her face. She was wearing a flattering navy blue business robe that didn't hide her figure the way her other clothes did. Her blonde hair was pulled back in two French braids, not a strand out of place. The change was remarkable.

"It isn't her," Draco insisted.

"Draco, trust me," Hermione said. "It's her."

"It's her," Blaise said gruffly.

Hermione gave Draco a smug look and he rolled his eyes with a slight smile. Her expressions were starting to incredibly resemble his own.

"So, you want to shag her or something?" Draco asked his friend.

Blaise turned his head quickly. "Today is about you, mate."

"Ah, I'm not that selfish," Draco smiled.

"Yeah, right," Hermione mumbled and received a pinch from her husband.

"Your witnesses are waiting in the antechamber and will be called in individually," Blaise said to take the topic away from anything Rhonda-related. "They will be questioned after taking an oath of honesty and if the Wizengamot thinks they're not being truthful, they will be asked to use a generic form of Veritaserum."

"And you said we won't be questioned?" Hermione asked.

"It depends. Sometimes the Wizengamot wants to question the parents, sometimes they don't," Blaise paused and looked at his watch and then up at the Wizengamot. "Okay, they're ready to start."

"A call to order, please," a heavyset witch in dull brown robes announced. She was sitting at the very end of the row of Wizengamot members, wearing the same robes as all the other members. "On this day of the fourth of August, we shall hear the case of Draco and Hermione Malfoy seeking full and binding custody of one, Zane Malfoy, biological son of Draco Malfoy and stepson of Hermione Malfoy.

"We begin today by an opening statement from Mr. Blaise Zabini, the Judicial Advocate representing Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy," the woman said.

Blaise stood up and bowed slightly to the Wizengamot. "Your Honors, I present this custody case to you with full intentions of supporting it. My clients have been subjected to an incredible injustice, resulting in the loss of custody of their son, whom they love very much. I will offer evidence supporting their faultless parenting. My evidence will include five sane and sound witnesses who were submitted to you earlier, and my evidence will also include tangible proof in the form of Domestic Ministry Professional documents and examinations."

"Thank you, Mr. Zabini," the witch said. She wrote something down on a piece of parchment and then turned to the man sitting at the table across from the one Hermione and Draco sat at. "Mr. Raymond Wells, the advocate representing the Ministry, now has the floor."

The older man stood up and approached the platform. "Your Honors, I am here to defend the Ministry's decision to place young Zane Malfoy with his biological mother on the grounds of the Malfoys' neglect and improper handling of the child."

Draco could hear Hermione murmuring under her breath something about "little slimeball, maggot" and "not worth the scum I clean off the toilet." Draco put his hand on top of hers and she gave him a forced smile.

"Mr. Zabini, you now have the floor."

Blaise stood up and bowed again. "I'd like to bring forth our first witness, Miss Donatella Miller."

A wizard standing at one of the doors in the back of the room opened the door and Donny walked through with a smile on her face and in her finest robes. She winked at Hermione and Draco and took the seat in front of the Wizengamot.

"Miss Miller, could you please state how you know the Malfoys," Blaise started, leaning against the table Hermione and Draco sat at.

"I work with Hermione at the Little Witches and Wizards Education Centre. She teaches the students aged three to six, and I teach the older students."

"How long have you known Mrs. Malfoy?"

"It's been close to three years now."

"How would you describe her?"

"Hermione? She's only one of the coolest, most fantastical--" she paused when she saw Blaise's eyebrow rise up. "I mean, I've always known Hermione to be a responsible, mature colleague. When our school wouldn't have enough money to pay the rent or to order school supplies, she would take the money out of her own pocket to pay for it."

"Is it true that you would also give up your paycheck to help?" Blaise asked.

"Well, yes, but I love working there and wouldn't want to see it close down. It's not like I had a lot to spend my money on besides my Quidditch magazine subscriptions and milk, of course. I love milk."

Hermione smiled widely at her friend. Regardless of how serious a situation, Donny couldn't help but be her fun, honest self.

"What can you tell us of Mrs. Malfoy's personality when she was around Zane?"

"She was nothing but loving towards him, I mean, you can't help it. You just fall in love with the kid from the beginning. During school, she wouldn't give him any preferential treatment or act with him differently from her other students. That's something I respect about her. If he needed to be put in time-out, she would do it. If he did something well, she would reward him, just like all the other students."

"Did you ever witness Mrs. Malfoy and Mr. Malfoy together as parents?"

"Yes, I see them a lot outside of school and they've always been top-notch parents to me. They didn't spoil Zane, but they didn't neglect him or anything. I've never seen a child more loved than Zane."

"Have you ever met Mrs. Pansy D'Aggostino?"

Donny scowled in disgust, "No, thank God. I'd probably smack that cow if I met her."

"Why do you say that, Miss Miller?" Blaise asked with a perfectly concealed smile.

"She was horrible to her son. She acted like he didn't exist, never cared for him. How could anyone ignore sweet, little Zane? She's an imbecile."

"I thought you never met her."

"Right, these are my assumptions," Donny smiled.

Blaise smiled back. "Thank you, Miss Miller, those are all my questions."

"Mr. Wells, do you have any questions for Miss Miller?" the woman sitting with the Wizengamot asked.

"A few," Mr. Wells said and stood up. "Miss Miller can you tell us of the day you received the floo from Mrs. Malfoy that Zane was in the hospital."

"You want me to tell you what happened that day?" Donny asked.

"Yes, please," Mr. Wells said with a patient smile.

"Well, uh, I woke up, and Woodie had hogged all the covers again, so I was pretty cold, but let me tell you, he sure warmed me right up…"

"Miss Miller, could you please tell us about what happened _after_ Mrs. Malfoy flooed you," Mr. Wells quickly interrupted.

Donny blinked back at him. "Okay, but you did tell me to tell you about my day," she said with a sniff. "Let's see, Hermione flooed me to tell me that Zane had been in an accident and was doing fine at St. Mungo's. I went to the hospital with Woodie, and we saw that Zane was completely fine."

"Woodie is your boyfriend, I'm guessing," Mr. Wells said.

"Yep."

"Have you ever seen Mr. or Mrs. Malfoy punish Zane?"

"No," Donny said with a small shake of her head.

"Are you being honest, Miss Miller?" he asked.

Her eyes narrowed. "I'm being very honest. I know that Zane was punished on occasion for talking back, or making trouble, but Hermione and Draco _never_ punish him in front of others. If they spank him or put him in time-out, then they do it behind closed doors, which is very conscientious of them, in my opinion."

"You think it's admirable for parents to spank their children."

Donny's eyes narrowed even further. "Are you insinuating that Hermione and Draco abused Zane? A light spanking now and then never killed anyone. I've studied the field of a child's development, and I can tell you that spanking is an effective way of punishment if used correctly. There's only a bad light on it because of the extreme cases where it goes wrong."

"Mrs. D'Aggostino has stated that she would never use corporal punishment to punish her son," Mr. Wells said.

"Mrs. D'Aggostino can rot—hasn't studied and worked with children for the past several years, either. I'm certain she wouldn't know a child from a baboon given the chance."

"So, you believe that Zane was never harmed in the care of Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy."

"I believe that one-hundred percent," Donny said. "I trust my life with those two, and you're only harming Zane by keeping him with Pansy."

"Thank you, Miss Miller. That will be all," Mr. Wells said.

As he walked back to his seat, only Draco, Hermione and Blaise saw Donny stick her tongue out at the man, turn around, smile sweetly at the Wizengamot and leave the courtroom.

Next, Harry came out, answering the same questions and answering them honestly. There seemed to be no problems with his interrogation. When asked about his past hatred for Draco, he answered honestly 

and put Mr. Wells in his place by stating that schoolboy rivalries had no place in a custody battle. He told them how his opinions of Draco's personality had no effect on Draco's skills as a father. The Wizengamot was really not one to repeat mistakes, so they didn't dare doubt Mr. Harry Potter.

Remus's questioning went smoothly, his opinions highly regarded. When Mr. Wells questioned him on his son's friendship with Zane and his feelings of leaving his son with parents who would cause such harm to their own son, Remus flashed his canines at the Judicial Advocate and then answered: "Frankly, my son is more in danger at his own home than he ever is at the Malfoys. I actually prefer for him to stay there every full moon. When you have a child, Mr. Wells, you'll realize the different kinds of safety there are in the world."

The next person up was Fred Weasley, who had won a coin toss with George to see who would testify for the Malfoys.

"Mr. Weasley, could you please tell us how you know the Malfoys," Blaise began.

"From school," Fred answered with a face that was supposed to be serious, but since he never was a serious person, he just looked like he was using the toilet. "My little brother and Hermione were friends."

"Do you think Mrs. Malfoy was a good mother to Zane?"

"Absolutely. Zane was immensely happy with her as his mother."

"Have you met Mrs. D'Aggostino before?"

"Unfortunately," Fred said with a solemn nod. "I know her from school. Prissy, little she-bitch, she was."

Blaise coughed into his fist to promptly hide a laugh. "So, I'm assuming you don't much appreciate her company."

"Nope. She's whiny, spoiled, greedy, selfish; she smells like sewage, probably illiterate, and most definitely an unfit mother."

"What makes her an unfit mother, Mr. Weasley?" Blaise asked.

"I just mentioned a whole list of reasons why," Fred explained. "Should I repeat them?"

"No, I do believe that's sufficient. I have no further questions."

Blaise took a seat and patted Draco on the back. "You really have nothing to worry about. This is going better than any of could have ever imagined," he whispered.

Draco nodded his thanks and went back to watching as Mr. Wells stood up to question Fred.

"Mr. Weasley, could you please tell the courtroom your occupation?"

Fred arched an eyebrow. "I run a joke-shop with my twin brother."

"So, you're a practical joker?" Mr. Wells asked.

"Me? A practical joker. Why, that's preposterous!" Fred said in such a believable way that Draco _and_ Hermione almost believed him.

"You spend a lot of time with young Zane?"

"I spend enough time with him to know that Hermione and Draco treat him like a little prince, just the way he should be treated. He's an intelligent boy, has mature emotional levels and has always been a smart child. I'm frankly surprised no one asked him who he'd like to live with."

"A child at his age doesn't understand the ramifications and consequences of his decisions," Mr. Wells said.

"Most adults don't understand the consequences of their decisions," Fred argued.

"Be that as it may, Mr. Weasley, that doesn't change the fact that Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy put their son in grave danger. He could have died."

"But he didn't," Fred said. "He was perfectly fine. A few scratches and a broken bone, but haven't we all taken a fall before? God knows that I've been injured more times than my mother could count. I was at St. Mungo's so often that the Healers could actually tell me apart from my identical twin."

"Let's talk about Mr. Malfoy for a second," Mr. Wells started. "I hear that the two of you never got along."

"That's true. Our personalities clashed," Fred said with a smile. He was obviously saying he had hated Draco's guts in the nicest way possible.

"Would you put your own child in his care?"

"If I ever knocked up a bird and ended up with a little redheaded spawn, I would most definitely leave them with Malfoy on occasion. He's an okay bloke despite being a bit arrogant, but then again, we all have our negative characteristics."

"So, do you think that--"

The door to the courtroom slammed open and everyone whipped their heads towards the entrance to find a most impossible sight.

"Daddy! Mummy!" Zane's squeal echoed throughout the room.

His hand was caught in Pansy's as she walked furiously towards the interior part of the room. She looked absolutely horrendous. What looked like a wig was sitting lopsidedly on her head, nearly falling off as she marched in the room. The skirt she wore was covered in stains that were hopefully mud or dirt. Her shirt was tie-dyed, and anyone who knew Pansy knew that anything tie-dyed was not an article of 

clothing she willingly chose to wear. The awful smell that followed her permeated throughout the room and made half of the occupants cover their noses with a handkerchief or their shirts.

Draco stared at Zane whom he hadn't seen in nearly a month. Zane's smile was large and he was waving at his parents as Pansy finally reached the table they sat at.

"You can have him," she spat out.

"What is the meaning of this?" one of the Wizengamot members asked in a flustered tone.

"I've had enough! I know he's been the one doing these awful things to me! There's no other explanation!" Pansy shrieked at the person who asked the question. "The bloody money isn't worth all of this!"

"Good Lord, Pansy, what happened to your hair?" Fred asked from his seat. "Maybe your stink made it all fall out."

"Shut up!" she yelled at the redhead. She turned back to Draco. "I don't want him. Take him and keep him away from me!"

"How dare you say that in front of him!" Hermione yelled, standing up to face Pansy. "How dare you even think about making him feel unwanted or unloved in any way!"

"I don't need a mudblood telling me anything!" Pansy shouted back.

"You are a disgusting, wicked, despicable woman," Hermione said through clenched teeth, her fists at her sides. "I never want you around my son or my family. Get the hell out of my sight before I do something I might regret."

"You don't frighten me, Granger… you think you're better than everyone and you think you're a better mother? Well, I frankly don't give a flying damn!"

With that, Pansy found herself flying across the room and out the door, landing on her backside. Her angry shriek filled the courtroom once more as Hermione turned to Zane and wrapped him in an enormous hug.

"Aw, Hermione, you could have slapped her around a bit more," Fred pouted.

"Order in this courtroom!" the Wizengamot member called out. "Order, please!"

"Daddy! Pansy was so mad! I missed you very, very, very much, and I missed mummy very, very, very much!" Zane said from between Hermione's arms as she had a hard time letting him go. "Pansy was stinky all the time! I didn't want her to be sad!"

Draco blinked at this son, his mind having a hard time putting everything together. His son was there in front of him. His son was there in front of him!

A voice no one expected to hear came from the panel where the Wizengamot sat. Rhonda had stood up, clearing her throat and dragging everyone's attention to her. "According to the laws and regulations set forth by the Department of Social and Family Services, when one parent voluntarily gives up custody of a child or children, the other biological parent is granted full and automatic custody that is nontransferable. In extreme cases, if neither of the biological parents is able to take care of the child, he or she immediately becomes a ward of the state.

"Mrs. D'Aggostino has given up custody by verbal agreement in front of at least three witnesses; therefore, Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy receive custody of Zane. The Wizengamot has no say in this matter, seeing as how these are the laws approved by them in the first place."

"Miss Westin is indeed correct," the Wizengamot member sighed. "This case has been settled and this shall be the end of any custody hearings for Zane Malfoy. You are free to take him home as soon as you'd like. All paperwork shall be owled to you within twenty-four hours. This concludes our session."

She hit her gavel against the podium and the Wizengamot and the Ministry's Judicial Advocate filed out the room, leaving it shrouded in a stunned silence.

"Hi, Unca Fred!" Zane said to the twin. "I did just like you said! Pansy saw me putting the doggie poopy in her closet. She screamed for a hundred hours!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about, mate," Fred said with a wink as he stood up and made his way towards the door. "You know I'm proud of you, right?"

"Yep!"

"Good. I'll see you soon! Remember, you can't tell anyone our secrets!" he said and closed the door behind him.

Zane giggled quietly and then looked up at his father.

"Are you going to say hi to me, Daddy?" Zane asked. He wiggled out of Hermione's strong hold and walked over to his father, waving his little hand in front of his father's face.

"Zane," Draco breathed before grabbing his son and wrapping his arms around him, kissing his hair and murmuring his name. "I missed you, mate."

"Me too, Daddy! A lot!" Zane's smothered voice said. "I had fun with Pansy and Unca Fred and Unca George."

"Uncle Fred and Uncle George?" Hermione muttered to herself. "What did…?" She rolled her eyes as the realization hit her.

"Daddy! I can't breathe!" Zane giggled. "Too much hugging!"

Draco pulled back, but didn't let go of his son, clasping his shoulders to look at him. He turned to Blaise and flashed him a generous smile. "Thanks."

"No need to thank me," Blaise said distractedly, watching Rhonda, who was still up on the dais, filling out some papers. "Glad to have Zany Brainy back."

"I missed you, Unca Blaise!" Zane said.

"Me too, Zany Brainy," Blaise laughed, looking at the boy. "Now, you take care of your parents for me, okay?"

"I will," Zane said seriously.

Blaise nodded just as one of the back doors opened and Donny came rushing out, her smile wide and her eyes even wider. "I just heard." Remus and Harry were right behind her. The fifth witness had kindly left, knowing his services were no longer needed.

Many more squeezing hugs, kisses and niceties were exchanged.

"I have to go sign a few things," Blaise told Draco. "I have to meet with the Wizengamot afterwards, so you can get home now."

Draco nodded and picked up his son, who was explaining to Donny and Hermione about how he had been so bored at Pansy's and about how Pansy had made him a new dinosaur.

"You ready to go home, Z?" Draco asked.

"Yes! I wanna see Rosie!"

"What about all of your grandparents and the Weasleys?" Hermione asked. "They've missed you so much."

Zane thought about this and nodded slowly. "Ok, but Rosie first."


	24. A Few More of Your Least Favorite Things

Disclaimer: Disclaimer: All Harry Potter related characters, places and themes belong to J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury and Scholastic.

A/N: Last chapter! Don't worry, there's still **the epilogue** and **the sequel**! The chapter title comes from the story's title song "Build God, Then We'll Talk" by Panic! At the Disco.

* * *

**Chapter 24: A Few More of Your Least Favorite Things**

* * *

Zane looked up from the meeting he was having with his two dinosaurs, Rosie and Posey, when his father walked into his room.

"Hi, Daddy," Zane said.

"What are you up to, Z?" Draco asked as he took a seat on the small bed.

"Talking to Rosie and Posey. We're getting ready for when Wolf comes over to play," Zane explained.

"Big plans, then?"

"Maybe," Zane shrugged, a small smile on his face. "We're going to play a lot of games."

"Your mother is making a surprise for the two of you," Draco smiled.

"Cookies?!" Zane squealed.

"Maybe."

"I think it's cookies. Mummy always makes me cookies when I've been a good boy, and haven't I been a good boy, Daddy?"

"You've been great," Draco said. "I'm very proud of you."

"Gampa said that he's going to get me any toy I want," Zane told his dad, walking up to him and climbing up into his lap. "Gamma said that Gampa is a softie. What's a softie?"

Draco laughed and hugged his son tight. "That just means that your grandfather loves you very much."

"Oh, me too!" Zane said. "Where are my cookies?"

"Go find your mum and you'll find out."

Zane was out of his father's lap in an instant, shooting off into the hallway and calling for his mother. He found her in the living room, reading an educational journal and sipping a mug of tea. "I have a surprise?"

Hermione looked up and smiled at him. "Yes, but you have to wait until Wolf comes over."

Zane pouted and walked sluggishly over to the couch. "Fine. Can I have a bigger piece of cookie than Wolf?"

"I think you should have an equal piece," Hermione told him. "Now, go tell your father to stop ruining my surprises or he won't get any cookies."

Zane laughed. "Daddy's gonna be in trouble!" He ran off to find his father and share the horrific news. No cookies! How dreadful!

Hermione laughed and settled back to her reading, her mind drifting over to how happy she was. Really, no one should be as happy as she currently was. It had been a week since Zane was brought back to them, since they were made whole again. That entire week had been filled with visitors to their flat, which included Narcissa having to practically be dragged out of the flat by her husband when all she wanted to do was sit and be with her grandson for many, many hours.

Zane was constantly happy, always seeking out his mother and father for a hug and kiss if they didn't seek him out first. He was back at home where he belonged and no one was going to take him away from his family again.

Hermione and Draco were still working on their relationship, letting Zane stay with the Lupins, Hermione's parents, his paternal grandparents, the Weasleys, or Donny and Oliver while they spent some time alone to talk and work through the few problems they had.

Fred and George had received an anonymous donation to their joke-shop, a very big one that could really have only come from one source. They tried to thank Draco, but he pretended he had no idea what they were talking about. The second donation was even bigger and when they told Draco that they were beyond grateful and didn't really need it, he told them he had nothing to do with any second donations. The source of the second donation would never be revealed to anyone, and Lucius would want to keep it that way.

After the second week Zane had been home, Donny had offered to take him out for lunch, because she complained that she never got to hang out with him one-on-one. It was a bright Saturday in late August and after lunch, Zane and Donny walked through the streets of Diagon Alley, giggling at random things and racing each other from different points.

"Can we see Unca Fred and Unca George at their store?" Zane asked as they looked through the window of Quidditch Quality Supplies.

"Sure," Donny replied, taking his small hand in hers as they crossed the street. "Would you like to get some ice cream afterwards?"

"YES!" Zane said, squeaking in excitement.

They made their way over to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes and entered the store behind a group of teenagers. Donny wove them through the crowded room towards the back where George stood at the register with his wife ringing up items.

"Unce George!" Zane screamed over the noise. "Hi!"

"Zane!" George smiled. "Come on back here. Are you babysitting Miss Donny today?"

"No, that's silly!" Zane giggled up at Miss Donny who smiled back.

"Hi, Zane, how are you?" George's wife, Catherine, asked.

"I'm fine," Zane said. "Can I talk to Unca George and Unca Fred in private?"

Catherine smiled at him and nodded. George leaned over the counter and picked Zane up, making airplane noises to offset Zane's laughs. "Let's go find that wayward brother of mine, shall we?"

They found Fred in the backroom stacking boxes and checking the inventory. "You got a second there, Fred? We have some serious business over here with Zane."

Fred peeked around a stack of boxes and smiled over at them. "Serious business is my second favorite type of business."

George set Zane down on a box and leaned against the wall to listen to the young boy. Fred walked over to where they were and gave Zane a handshake, the ones where Zane's whole body shook. After the little boy stopped giggling, he stood up and reached into his pocket.

Fred and George watched Zane pull out two sickles and a galleon. "Can I buy something?"

"Oh, mate, you know you don't have to pay for anything here," George said.

Zane shook his head and held out the three coins to the twins. "I want to buy the stuff for Pansy's hair and her stinky clothes. I don't want her to be sad and mad of me anymore."

The twins stared at Zane for a long while, watching his wide eyes look back at them unwaveringly. "You want to buy her the antidotes?"

"You said that she can buy the stuffs to make her hair come back and to make her not stinky from your store. I want to buy them for her, and then Daddy or Mummy can send them to her so that she can stop being sad. Her hair was very pretty before it all went away. It was the same color like Miss Donny."

"But Pansy was horrible to you," Fred explained.

"She wasn't horrible all of the time," Zane said. "She made me Posey, and she gave me an ice cream once. Jello played a game with me with some pretty cards, and I won the game! I don't know if I have enough moneys to buy the stuff for Pansy. Maybe Daddy can give you some more if I don't have it all."

They exchanged a glance with each other, always surprised with what came out of that kid's mouth.

"Can I buy the stuffs?" Zane asked again.

"Of course you can, mate," George sighed. "We'll send them over to her on an overnight owl post."

"Thank you, Unca George! Thank you, Unca Fred!" Zane happily said, hugging their legs. He opened his hand and offered them the money. "Don't tell Pansy that I buyed the stuffs for her hair and her stinky clothes. I wanna be it a surprise!"

"You can keep your money, mate and buy yourself a big, big ice cream," Fred said.

Zane thought about this for a moment. "But I'm a big boy, and I can pay at the store by myself."

"I can't take money from him with a clean conscience," Fred whispered to George. "He's killing me here."

"Okay Zane, you can pay all by yourself," George said, leading the boy out of the backroom out into the store. "The price will be one sickle."

Zane looked down at his hand and frowned.

"It's the silver one, mate," Fred said from behind him.

Zane picked up a silver coin and handed it to George once they reached the register. "Don't forget about our secret, Unca George, Unca Fred!"

George nodded and slipped Donny the silver sickle and waited for Zane to become busy with putting his money back in his pockets for him to lean over and tell Donny to give Zane the money back discreetly.

The twins watched the little boy and Donny leave the store. "He sure knows how to take you on a guilt trip," Fred complained as they went back to work. "Makes me almost want to go apologize to that cow over in France."

"_Almost_ being the key word," George smiled.

* * *

Blaise looked up from his paperwork when his doorbell rang. He looked up at the clock in his living room to find it only eight in the evening. It couldn't be Draco because it was almost Zane's bedtime. It couldn't be his mother, Mrs. Zabini, because she was over at some godforsaken resort in Spain probably banging the hotel staff and local tourists.

He sighed as he put down his quill and sauntered over to the front door. He still hadn't changed out of his work clothes, but had only taken off his tie and unbuttoned the first few buttons on his shirt.

He forgot to check through the peephole as he opened the door and found Miss Rhonda Westin standing on his doorstep. She stared at him with quickly blinking eyes behind lopsided glasses. She was back in dark brown robes that did not flatter at all. But, she was like a breath of fresh air for Blaise as he stared right back at her.

"Hi, Mr. Zabini," she stuttered. "I, um, had a question to ask."

"Why don't you come in," he asked, moving back to let her in.

Her eyes widened and she bit her lip harder. "Um, okay." She walked in tentatively and smiled shakily as he closed the door behind them.

"What did you want to ask me?" he asked.

She looked down at her hands and then pushed her glasses to the other side, only moving the crookedness slightly to the right. "I, uh, well, you see, this is going to sound strange, or something… uh, well, I was wondering if you… um, do you want to grab dinner sometime?"

Blaise smiled at her, her eyes pointed towards the ground and her hands fidgeting. "I'd love to."

"Really?" she looked up quickly and blinked at him. "Um… really?"

He almost laughed. "Yes, really. You're quite a girl, Rhonda."

She grimaced at that. "I hate my name."

"Yeah?"

"I really don't like it. My friends call me…" she blushed. "It's stupid."

"What do they call you?"

"Doddy," she muttered. "It's the last syllable of my name and a little extra. I mean, it isn't great, but anything is better than Rhonda."

"Doddy?" he asked.

"You can go ahead and laugh. I can see you struggling not to," she smiled. "It won't bother me."

"Good," he said before chuckling softly. "I like a girl that can poke fun at herself."

"Thank you," she said with another smile. "I'm not really good at the whole social thing. I have my few friends and I haven't dated in ages, you know, trying to get my career settled. But, I just found myself at your doorstep and I, uh, I really like you, Mr. Zabini."

"Blaise," he corrected, "and I like you, too, Doddy."

She laughed at that and choked on her laugh when Blaise stepped up to her and put his hands on her face to fix her glasses. He winked at her and then leaned down to kiss her softly on the lips.

He'd kissed many women, _many_, but none had ever tasted as sweet and pure as the woman in his arms. She was soft where a girl was supposed to be soft and had smooth skin anywhere he touched.

He pulled away slowly and smiled at how wide her smile had gotten.

"I was thinking of getting contact lenses," she whispered. "But I think I'll stay with the glasses."

"Good decision," he said before he leaned down and kissed her again, knocking thoughts of glasses, lenses, poor vision, and anything else out of their minds.

* * *

"Hermione!" Draco yelled from the kitchen. "Get the door, please!"

Hermione looked up from the laundry and put down a folded shirt on the edge of the bed. She passed by Zane's room where she heard Zane and Wolf playing swords, or Dragon fight, or some other crazy game only they understood.

She poked her head into the kitchen to find Draco putting away the dishes and trying to get the mop to clean the floor on its own. He was having no luck. She kept going past the kitchen and opened the front door to Narcissa and Lucius, looking their best in their fine robes, as was usual of course.

"Hermione, darling," Narcissa greeted her daughter-in-law. "How are you?"

She hugged her quickly and floated into the house. Lucius tilted his head politely in Hermione's direction. Typical.

"I'm fine, Narcissa," Hermione said, closing the door and walking with them to the living room. "How are the two of you? Are you excited about your trip?"

Narcissa shrugged delicately. "It should be fun. Our tour of the Mediterranean is always nice."

"Let me go tell Draco that you're here," Hermione said and walked to the kitchen.

Narcissa turned to Lucius and smiled as he wrapped his strong fingers around her hand as they took a seat on the couch. "I see you've been using my hand moisturizer," she told him.

Lucius raised an eyebrow. "I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about."

"Really, you could use the one that doesn't have the glitter in it if you're going to try to be sneaky," she said with a straight face.

He snatched his hand back and looked at it. Discovering no glitter, he turned a glare to his wife. "I didn't use the one with glitter."

She burst into soft laughter. "Oh, Lucius, I do love you so."

He rolled his eyes, but she caught the slight smile on his face right as Draco and Hermione walked back into the living room. Lucius's manicuring tendencies could wait.

The younger couple was also holding hands, causing Lucius to roll his eyes once again and nearly gag. _God, I hope Narcissa and I didn't look like that at any point in our marriage. Lovesick puppies. Makes me sick._

Draco walked to the couch to greet his mother and shake hands with his father.

"We're glad you came," he said, taking a seat across from them in an armchair.

"We're always happy to, sweetheart," Narcissa said.

"We actually have some news," Hermione said, taking a seat in the armchair next to Draco's.

"You're separating?" Narcissa asked with a horrified gasp. "I mean, I know today is supposed to be the day you two were supposed to end your marriage, but I thought you loved each other and Zane has only been back for two months. You can't do this to him. You two are so perfect together…"

"Narcissa!" Lucius snapped. "Good Lord, woman, close your mouth for a minute."

She gave him a cold look and turned back quickly to Hermione and Draco.

"Mum, where on earth do you get your ideas?" Draco asked.

"Just tell us," Narcissa whined uncharacteristically.

Draco looked to Hermione and she smiled. "Well, I just came back from visiting my parents," she started to say.

"MUMMY AND DADDY ARE GOING TO GIVE ME A LITTLE BROTHER OR SISTER!!" Zane's yell came from the entryway of the living room.

Four heads turned in his direction where he stood with Wolf. He was smiling at them, and Wolf was giggling behind his hand. "Let's go play ninja dogs!"

"Okay!" Zane readily agreed. "I get to be the troll this time!"

The two boys ran off giggling down the hallway where they had come from, as if they hadn't just ruined such a momentous moment.

"Was he joking?" Narcissa broke the silence first.

Hermione smiled. "No. He was telling the truth."

"I was beginning to think you were shooting blanks there, son," Lucius said.

"Thank you, father," Draco said dryly. "Your comments are always appreciated."

"You're with child?" Narcissa asked slowly.

"Yes," Hermione replied with a nod. "About a month and a half along if my estimates are right."

"You're going to have a baby?" she asked again.

Maybe she was losing her mind? Or maybe she was in denial? Draco and Hermione shared a worried look. Lucius just rolled his eyes again.

"Yes," Hermione and Draco said at the same time "We're going to have a baby."

--

Zane and Wolf had to close their ears at the very loud scream they heard coming from the living room.

Wolf looked at Zane with his head tilted to the side as the screaming stopped. "That sounded like Miss Donny when Unca Woodie came to school and gave her that pretty ring."

"Yeah," Zane agreed. "I wonder if Gamma got a pretty ring, if that's why she's screaming."

"Maybe," Wolf said, "but Unca Woodie also brought flowers, and he was wearing nice clothes. I didn't see any flowers when you just said your mummy and daddy were going to give you a new brother or sister."

"Do you think Gamma is going to kiss Gampa like Miss Donny kissed Unca Woodie for a long time when he gave her that pretty ring?"

Wolf thought for a moment. "No. Kissing is yucky."

"Yeah, kissing is the yuckiest thing in the whole wide world! It's yuckier than bogies and yuckier than poopies!"

At that, the two boys burst into peals of laughter.

If only all the silly growmups in the world knew how yucky kissing was! Really, it's even yuckier than poopies!


	25. Epilogue

Disclaimer: All Harry Potter related characters, places and themes belong to J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury and Scholastic.

**(PLEASE READ)** A/N: Thank you, everyone, for the support this story has received! I enjoyed writing it so much, and I have all of you to thank for that! I'm sad to see this story come to an end, but I'm overjoyed to start the sequel and share with you all the story of Zane's life.

I've **posted pictures** of the people you're soon to read about. So, please go check those out!! The sequel should be up soon!

Also, an additional note. Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island. Portsmouth is not the actual island.

* * *

**Epilogue**

* * *

The movement of the rubber ball going up and falling back down to the bed was damn near hypnotizing. Zane Malfoy watched from his place on the floor as his best mate since childhood, Wolfgang Lupin, threw and caught the rubber ball while lying on Zane's bed.

"I'm bored," Wolf yawned as he caught the ball and threw it back up into the air. "We haven't been graduates of Hogwarts for a full day yet and I'm already bored out of my bloody arse."

"My mum said you can't keep cursing around here. Blake is starting to pick up words, and she said if his first word is 'bloody,' 'shit,' 'bugger,' or 'arse' then she's going to kill you," Zane replied, pulling at a loose string from his sock.

Wolf laughed and threw the rubber ball at Zane. "Aunt Hermione wouldn't harm a hair on my head. She loves me too much."

"Nah, mate, I'm pretty sure she only just tolerates your presence for my sake," Zane said.

"Liar."

"I'm not lying," Zane said with an innocent smile.

"AUNT HERMIONE!" Wolf yelled.

They heard Hermione's footsteps coming down the long hallway and watched her poke her head into the room. "Why are you screaming?"

"Tell Zane that you love me completely, and that you wish I was your son instead of him," Wolf said from the bed.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "I really have no idea when the two of you are going to grow up. Dinner is almost ready, by the way. Wash up, please, and can you make sure your siblings are washed up, too, Zane?"

Zane nodded and watched her leave the room. "I told you she only tolerated you," he said to Wolf.

"Wanker," Wolf laughed and threw a pillow at his friend.

"You also can't say 'wanker,' you wanker," Zane said, getting another pillow thrown at him for good measure.

* * *

Zane knocked on Deena's door and opened it when she told him to come in. He found his eight-year-old sister sitting on the floor with a large pile of dolls surrounding her.

"Hi, Zane!" she said with a bright smile on her face. "You wanna play with me?"

Zane looked at the dolls with something a little less harsh than horror. "Ah, no thank you. It's almost time for dinner. Mum said to wash your hands."

"But my hands are clean," she said, making two of her two dolls smash into each other. "Lex's hands are dirty, though. Go tell him to wash up."

"Someone's extremely bossy today, aren't we?" Zane teased.

Deena smiled widely at him, displaying three missing baby teeth. "Daddy says I'm perfect."

"Yeah, well _Daddy_ also spoils you to the point of nausea," he muttered.

"But I'm his little Duchess Deena!" she said proudly, with all the hauteur of a Malfoy.

"Of course you are," Zane said. "Now, go wash your hands."

He watched her scramble out of the pile of dolls and run to the bathroom connected to her room, her curly, blonde hair streaming behind her. She looked so much like Hermione that Zane had no trouble understanding why his father spoiled her so much. The trademark Malfoy hair color only made Deena that much more adorable. The baby fat and the missing teeth and the light brown eyes always made any male who talked to her a complete sucker, ready to do whatever she wanted. She had all of her male relatives wrapped around her chubby, little finger.

He left her room to check on Lex, his twelve-year-old brother. Zane and Lex were quite close despite being five years apart in age.

The door to Lex's room was open and the young, blond boy sat on his bed with his headphones, a gift from their maternal grandparents, stuck in his ears as he browsed through a Potions magazine. Yeah, they actually had magazines devoted to potions. Lex was the brainiac of the family, taking after his mother. All the Malfoy children were blondes, but their personalities usually took after Hermione, something she constantly liked to remind Draco about and thank the Gods for.

Zane walked over to his brother's bed and snatched the magazine out of his hands.

"Hey!" Lex said in his pubescent, cracking voice, his dark brown eyes narrowing at his older brother. "I was reading that."

"Mum says to wash up for dinner," Zane said, throwing the magazine back onto the bed.

"My hands are clean," Lex said with a roll of his eyes.

"Just wash them," Zane said on his way out of the room, listening to his brother grumble behind him.

He walked back to his own room where Wolf was still on the bed, except now he was sleeping. Zane shook his head at his friend who always liked to fall asleep when he was bored, usually on any flat surface he could find. Zane crept back out of the room and closed the door behind him.

He walked to the kitchen where Hermione sat at the table, trying to get Blake to eat his crackers. Blake was Zane's youngest sibling at only ten months old. Everyone knew that Draco and Hermione had planned to stop having kids after Deena, but then Blake had come along eight years later as a complete and utter surprise. Zane liked to call him Blake the Accident Baby.

With a mop of pale, blond hair, Blake was a lively babe with pudgy cheeks and bright blue eyes he inherited directly from his grandmother, Narcissa. He also couldn't talk, which made him Zane's favorite sibling.

"Sweetheart, could you hand me that towel over there?" Hermione asked.

Zane picked up the towel draped over the counter and sat down at the table next to his brother's high chair. Blake immediately reached out to cover Zane's face in soggy cracker crumbs. _Great_.

"Oh, Blakey, don't make a mess," Hermione sighed, handing Zane the towel. "Did Lex and Deena wash up?"

"Yeah."

"Where did you leave Wolf?" she asked, ducking as Blake swung his tiny fist in many directions.

"He's sleeping," Zane shrugged.

Hermione smiled at that. "Your father is down in the cellar organizing the boxes. I swear, anytime I ask him to do something he complains more than an old hag."

"I do _not_ complain like an old hag," Draco said from the doorway, wiping his hands on his pants. "If you would let me use my wand, I wouldn't say anything." He leaned down to ruffle Blake's hair and kiss his head. "Give your mother hell for me, kid."

"Really, Draco, what did I say about cursing?" Hermione asked with a frown.

"Hell is not a curse word. It's a place some muggles believe in," he argued, winking at Zane. "Places can't be curses."

She rolled her eyes. "Did you finish down in the cellar?"

Draco snorted. "No. There're too many boxes. How on earth do you expect me to finish without a wand?"

"Would you stop with the wand?" Hermione snapped. "It really wouldn't help you in organizing anything. All it can do is probably lift the heavy stuff. Are you saying that your arms are too weak to lift anything?"

"Shut it," Draco mumbled as he grabbed a glass of water and glared at his wife over the rim.

Zane pressed his hand to his mouth to keep from laughing. His parents' fights never ceased to amuse him. He stopped laughing when Hermione spoke again.

"Maybe Zane can help you," she said.

_Damn it!_

"Are you busy, Z? I could use your help," Draco said.

"Uh," Zane sighed. "Yeah, okay, I can help. Wolf won't be up for a while."

"I swear that boy takes more naps than Blake," Hermione said, making a silly face for her baby. "Doesn't he, Blakey?"

Zane and Draco grimaced. Neither one of them could stomach the baby-talk, but Hermione loved all of her children so much she really couldn't help it.

* * *

Coughing strongly as a layer of dust scattered from an old box, Zane waved away the dust and moved the box with his foot. "What's in this one?"

Draco looked up from his spot across the cellar. "Is it labeled?"

Zane shook his head and knelt down to try and open the box. "There's nothing written on it."

"It might be your old toys. Your mum said if we found them to bring them upstairs to give to Deena and Blake."

He carefully opened the box, trying not to spread the dust around too much, and reached inside. The cellar of the house wasn't too brightly lit, but he could still make out the shapes of all his old toys in the box.

He picked up the first two items at the top and stared at them with his mouth slightly hung open. His two favorite toys, the two things he had never let out of his sight: Rosie and Posey the dinosaurs. It had been ages since he'd seen them. On his ninth birthday, Draco and Hermione had convinced him to give them up, and he had done it reluctantly.

Looking at the green dinosaur, Posey, his mind was suddenly filled with the reason he had it. He looked up at his father, who was rifling through another box.

"Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"Whatever happened to Pansy?"

Draco's movements stopped and he lifted his head to meet his son's gaze. "Pansy?"

"You never talk about her, except for that time when Lex was six and he drew a picture of a monkey, and Donny said it looked just like Pansy…"

"I haven't heard from her or heard anything about her," Draco shrugged.

"Is she still married to that guy?"

Draco shrugged again. "Why all the questions?"

"I don't know, I'm just curious. She is my mother after all…"

"Hermione is your mother," Draco said sharply.

"Dad, I know that," Zane said patiently. "But it doesn't stop me from wondering. It's not like I can completely ignore who she is."

"I don't know what's happened to her, Z, and I really don't care."

"Does mum know about her?"

"No, and I don't want you asking her," Draco explained.

"Okay," Zane said quietly, putting the two dinosaurs back into the box.

"Zane," Draco sighed, "don't be upset."

Zane looked up and shook his head, forcing a smile onto his face. "I'm not upset, Dad, honestly. I'm just curious. It's not like I've had a void in my life where a mother should have been. I promise."

Draco looked at his son for a long moment and then smiled softly. "Okay, help me with those boxes and we'll be done for today."

* * *

Dinner was normal: loud babbles coming from Blake, Deena trying to avoid getting food thrown at her by Blake, and Lex getting chastised for bringing books to the dinner table. Zane watched all of this with a heavy heart and after dinner, he snuck up to his room to find Wolf still asleep. He grabbed his wand and stuck it in his pocket before leaving the room.

He paused by the living room where Draco and Hermione sat with Deena and Blake.

"I'm going out for a few hours," Zane said.

Draco looked up from bouncing Blake on his knee. "Where are you going?"

"Just out," Zane said with a shrug. "Wolf's sleeping, and I'll be back before midnight."

"Do you have your wand?" Hermione asked. When Zane nodded, she smiled. "Have fun, sweetheart."

Zane grabbed his cloak, but then stuck it back on the coat rack. It was too hot for a cloak; his jeans and shirt would be enough. As he left the house, he took a deep breath of the salty air around him.

After Lex had been born, his parents had decided that the flat they lived in was too small to raise a family, so they had packed up and moved to a fairly quiet area in Portsmouth. Portsmouth was actually located on an island with a small channel separating the island from England. Several bridges connected the island to the mainland, but transportation was really never a problem with Apparition and floo.

Zane walked down to the docks and let the slight wind ruffle his hair. Hermione was always urging him to get it cut, but he never even noticed it. It curled annoyingly, always causing Draco to wonder where he got the curls and waves from. Hermione liked to tell him that the milkman was really Zane's father.

The tips of his hair brushed against the collar of his shirt and curled over his ears, but he usually just pushed it away with his hand. With age, the dark blond had mixed with lighter shades, leaving him with a mess of dark and pale strands.

He really preferred not think about his hair. It only made him stress.

He stuck his hands into his pockets and finally reached his destination, an area below the docks where he could apparate in private. With all the concentration he could muster, he went over the rules of international Apparition and left the humid air of the beach behind him.

* * *

After getting the address from a directory and getting directions from a café owner, Zane made his way up the long path to the chateau he vaguely remembered from childhood.

He really didn't understand his reasons for being where he was. There was a part of him that really just wanted to know what Pansy was up to. There was also a tiny part of him, a vengeful part of him (no doubt the Malfoy part of him) that wanted her to regret not loving her son.

He strode to the door and knocked quickly, stepping back and running a single hand through his hair. He counted to ten as he waited for the door to open.

He wasn't surprised when a house-elf opened the door and stared at him quizzically. "May I help you, sir?"

"Yes, uh… is Pansy here?"

"My mistress is home, yes!" the house-elf squeaked. "Who may I tell her is visiting?"

"Um, tell her it's Zane Malfoy," he said nervously.

"Master Zane!" the house-elf squealed. "My, but you have grown so big! I remember you when you were just a babe and then when you were with us when you were such a small child!"

"Oh, thanks, I guess," he said. "I'm sorry, but I don't remember your name. It's been a long time."

"I'm honored that you'd like to know my name at all, sir! I'm Sicily."

"Hi, Sicily," he said.

"You must come inside, sir, hurry now," she said quickly. "Follow me and I'll take you to my mistress!"

Zane stepped into the grand house and followed the house-elf as she scurried to what he assumed was a sitting room.

"Mistress Pansy, young Master Zane is here to visit!" Sicily said excitedly.

Zane stood in the doorway and watched the dark-haired woman facing away from him turn around and stare at him in surprise. She had been sitting with a book in her hands, enjoying the warmth from the fireplace.

She stared at her son for a long while, looking into his eyes and then looking him up and down, not quite believing who stood there before her.

"Hi," Zane said quietly, looking away from his birthmother and staring at his shoes.

"What are you doing here?" she asked slowly.

It had been a mistake. He shouldn't have come. He had a perfectly fine family back home who loved him with all of their beings, and he had come for no reason other than to satiate his stupid curiosity.

"You look so much like your father," she said. "I can't believe it's you."

He looked up at her and shrugged. "I just came by to, uh, see what had happened to you. I saw something today and it reminded me of you."

"Really? What was that?"

"I found that dinosaur you had made for me when I was here," he explained, realizing how dumb he sounded.

"I'm sorry, I don't remember," she said.

Zane watched her as she gestured for him to take a seat. She had aged, lines marking the corners of her lips and eyes. She looked tired.

He took the chair across from where she was sitting and tapped his heel nervously. "How is your husband?"

Pansy stiffened and then looked at the fireplace, her eyes turning icy. "He passed away two years ago."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that."

She shrugged and continued looking at the fireplace. "How is your father?"

"He's fine," he answered.

"And his wife?"

"Mum is fine, too," Zane said. He noticed her wince as he called Hermione his mum. He couldn't help it. It was the truth.

"I didn't have any children after you, Zane," she said suddenly. "Angelo couldn't have children. But I loved him, and I thought I didn't need any children in my life."

_Ummm… ok, that's random, Pansy…_

She turned to him and smiled slightly. "You've grown up so much. You're basically a man. I just… I just wish, I could have changed things a bit. Maybe I wouldn't be so lonely these days. I've had a lot of time to think about my life, and I know I made some mistakes, but I'm actually glad your father raised you. Lord only knows what could have happened if you had stayed with me."

Zane stayed quiet and felt awkward as he listened to Pansy's monologue.

"I'm happy you came to see me, Zane," she said softly. "You're a good boy and have been raised right. I don't deserve your kindness, but I thank you anyway."

"It's no problem," he mumbled.

"Do your parents know you're here?" she asked.

"Uh, not really. I don't think they would like it much to know that I'm here," he said.

"I know what they think of me," she said. "It's not like I like them very much either. But, you… you're a kind person, Zane. Would you… could you… tell me about you."

Zane blinked slowly and then cleared his throat, not really knowing what to say. Pansy urged him to tell her about his time at Hogwarts, his siblings and his plans. He spoke quietly, looking down at his knee or at the wall while he spoke. After nearly two hours, he finally stood up and ran a hand through his curls, a nervous habit he couldn't seem to get rid of.

"I should get going now…"

"Thank you for coming, Zane," Pansy said earnestly as she stood up next to him. "Would you… would it be a great bother for you to visit again? I mean, I enjoyed your company, and I… well, I don't get many visitors."

"Yeah, I could do it again," Zane shrugged. He paused for a moment and looked at her. He spoke before his mind had the chance to stop him. "Why didn't you love me when I was younger?"

Pansy's jaw slackened slightly.

"I wasn't a bad kid," he continued, looking down at his shoes. "I've always felt like I did something wrong, something to make the woman who was supposed to be my mother hate me. I tried to be good, I really did. I had a father who loved me unconditionally, grandparents who spoiled me to pieces and a mother who loved me fiercely, never letting me remember that my birthmother didn't want me. But I never forgot. It was always in the back of my mind. I love my family, and I am privileged to have them love me back."

His breathing was harsh now as he ran a hand through his hair again. He had never said any of these things out loud. He had never even thought so hard about them.

"But, it pissed me off that you didn't like me. I don't even know why I should care! It pisses me off even more that I _do_ care. Maybe I'm selfish and I have this subconscious need for everyone to like me, or maybe I'm just stubborn like everyone else in my family and can't let things go… I don't know. I'm… I just… ugh, forget it. I'm sorry. I'll go."

He turned to leave and was stopped by the hand on his shoulder.

"I can't change the past, Zane," Pansy said in a near whisper. "I probably can't make things right between us, and I don't really know how to try. But, I can apologize for my past behavior. I can start a different relationship with you now. I can't be a mother to you since you have one that did such a wonderful job, loathe as I am to admit it. You're all I have left, Zane. I have no qualms with using guilt as a motivation; it's what made me a Slytherin… I don't think it's time for you to forgive me, but I do hope that you can give it a chance."

Zane nodded stiffly and then walked out of the sitting room.

As he reached the door in the front hall, he felt arms go around his waist and squeeze him tightly before releasing him quickly. He turned, surprised when he saw Pansy wiping at the corners of her eyes. "Go on home, Zane. I'm expecting you to come back. You still have to fill me in on oh so much."

He nodded again and then left the house, his head swimming with confusion and a bit of euphoria. He hadn't known what to expect apparating to France, but he was glad he did it. The relationship with his birthmother was not even close to being normal, but with time, maybe he could come to understand his motives for seeking her out.

For now, he had a family that wanted him back at home and that loved him more than anyone should love another human being. For now, that would be enough.

With a smile, he apparated back home to Portsmouth.


End file.
